“Our Story is Your Story”
The homelessness crisis in our community is more visible than ever. It’s up to all of us to come together to understand how we got here and explore the solutions available to move forward and create long-term change.
On June 25th, City Club of Portland hosted a Tuesday Forum to discuss the value of supportive services as a key element to solving homelessness. While the housing first model has been one of the solutions given a great deal of attention as of late, the forum emphasized the need for wrap-around services to support the transition from houselessness to stability.
“I never thought I would ever face homelessness,” Jennifer Langston said as she opened up about the detrimental domino effect that resulted following multiple traumatic experiences. “I’m hoping after hearing my story, you’ll remember my trauma and know that those surviving on the street have similar experiences. My story is their story. Their story is my story, and our story is your story.”
Rei Skoczylas — currently a Care Coordinator at Housecall Providers — described their experience as a homeless teen struggling to get clean. They emphasized how far compassion and empathy go when assisting those experiencing homelessness.
“A big part of health care for me — accessing those mental health resources to help give me the ability to hold down a job so that I could stay housed — was being treated with dignity and respect,” Skoczylas said. “Not being seen as a former drug addict. Not being seen as a houseless person. Being seen as Rei or ‘the person that is sitting in front of me. You are a strong person, and I know that you can get through this. Let’s get through this together.”
Langston also opened up about the services that helped her on her journey. “Once I was housed in stable housing, the retention program was also very important because, even though you get housed, you don’t have a sense of community once you leave the shelter. You’re kind of on your own.”
A clear theme developed throughout the night: our service to those experiencing homelessness does not end with organizations like Transition Projects and Outside In who we associate with this work. The care and attention provided by these services must be reflected in each and every one of us to solve homelessness together.
“I think with compassion and empathy, we can build up our community,” Skoczylas said. “Without these, people will never see their full potential. It’s up to us to heal this community. One shelter, one health center, one act of kindness at a time.”
HereTogether is a coalition of service providers, business leaders, elected officials, and advocates who all believe homelessness in the Portland area is not an unsolvable problem. We know there are proven ways to effectively solve homelessness. We believe a region-wide response that targets the roots of the problem and matches solutions to meet the scale and scope of the crisis is how we get there. Learn more about HereTogether at HereTogetherOregon.org.
