I keep getting phone calls. People know we are full and still they hope. I hear story after story of desperate families. “The shelter is overflowing.” “There is no good place to go.” “Where can me and my kids sleep tonight?”
“As a family advocate I work with many homeless families, visiting them in restaurants or on the streets as they carry their children and all their belongings packed in a stroller or live out of their cars… Knowing that there is a place where families will be valued and respected and given tools to make significant life changes is huge and makes all the difference when you work in what sometimes seems to be a sea of suffering. Tru Tate, Lifeworks Family Advocate
Can you help relieve this Sea of Suffering with a donation today?
“The North and Northeast area of Portland has consistently had the highest numbers of students identified as (homeless or at risk of being homeless). Yet, there are not many options in those sections of Portland to accommodate these students.” Marti Heard Portland Public Schools Homeless Program Liaison
Sea of suffering expresses it well. We hear more and more about homelessness in the news. We see people on the streets and villages of tents. We know there are so many families just struggling to provide the basic necessities- food, shelter, safety- for themselves and their children. The crisis at hand is big and overwhelming for all of us—a seemingly impossible dilemma. How can we meet this huge need? Until there is enough suitable housing for low income families and individuals, we are left bearing the burden of an inadequate system. What can we do right now?
“The need for shelters that are well organized like Community of Hope is great. I jump at the chance to refer my clients there.” Tru Tate, Lifeworks Family Advocate
“We are grateful to have the Community of Hope Shelter as a resource for homeless student in Portland Public School District attending North Portland schools. It has made a tremendous different in the lives of families that have stayed there.” Marti Heard, Portland Public Schools Homeless Program Liaison
I can’t do everything, but I can do one big thing when I join with others to make Community of Hope an option for North Portland single-parent families facing homelessness. Here eight families at a time get a safe place to call home, for some the best home they have had! I get to watch them heal, grow, celebrate, be empowered, and move on to stable homes and greater healing. What a gift to be able to make a difference! Read Joy’s story to see how her family’s life was changed by living here.
Please do this big thing with us. Make a dent in this huge problem. Donate to Community of Hope today. Be part of the solution in this Sea of Suffering.