Nearly two months after a new shelter opened in east Portland, families say they have settled into to a calmer pace of life.
The previous family shelter was only open during the coldest months of the year, and even then it closed its doors during working hours. The new shelter, open year-round and 24-hours a day, gives parents a chance to focus on what’s important.
“We don’t have to be out at 7, so we don’t have that stress of everyone trying to get everything together,” said Evan Rogers, who has spent months at the shelter with his 7-year-old son, Blake. “It’s more relaxed getting him ready for school.”
Rogers was among the more than 100 guests at the shelter this week when Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury visited to serve tacos prepared by the Tortilleria Y Tienda De Leon's.
Amid the din of children playing, Blake napped on a cot, hugging a basketball. Chair Kafoury chatted with parents about the changes in housing services in the county and listened to families talk of their continued struggles to find stable housing.
The visit comes as Multnomah County has pledged to cut homelessness in half by 2018, and as the City of Portland and the County have dedicated $40 million on housing services, affordable and emergency housing.
“There is so much need, so many people struggling,” Kafoury said. The statistics -- showing more than 3,000 people without stable housing -- are troubling enough; Those numbers come into focus when she spends time with families.
Kassie Perryman is a good example. She’s in a shelter for the first time with her youngest child, 4-year-old Jonathan. “I was hit by a car in September,” she said. “I pretty much lost everything from there.”
Jonathan, who has asthma, has been sick since they arrived at the shelter; it seems that any bug one child has, everyone gets. “It’s just one thing after another,” Perryman said.
Some of the shelter’s youngest guests helped Kafoury serve up beans, meat and fresh salsas, their hands lost in adult-sized rubber gloves. After dinner, parents Allan and Laura Brown brought out a surprise for their 2-year-old son, John: a Harley Davidson birthday cake.
Allan is making up for lost time. Last year on the same day, he was high on meth, which led to an assault charge, and he landed in jail. So this week, seven months clean, Allan went to Fred Meyer and spent a precious $36 on a sheet cake.
“Happy 2nd birthday, John” the icing read. Within minutes, the boy was covered, nose to fingertips, in the sweet sticky stuff. His father hovered nearby, glowing with pride.