By Joanne Zuhl, Staff Writer
They carpooled and packed into buses, wearing buttons in solidarity and some paired in matching T-shirts. More than 150 of them, of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, made the trip.
They came for Housing Opportunity Lobby Day, April 4, at the State Capitol, where lawmakers paused to open their doors to people’s personal testimony on the challenges they’ve faced.
They gathered early in Salem before heading out to talk with lawmakers about what’s at stake in this legislative session, including funding for emergency housing programs, foreclosure prevention, veterans’ housing and access to housing for Section 8 recipients. It was one of the largest coalitions the Alliance has sent to Salem, and together they met with more than 65 legislators to talk about housing issues
They included David Henderson, who will be 60 in June. Henderson is a former human resources consultant for a large apparel company. About two years ago, he lost his job and shortly thereafter become disabled. He now has difficulty walking and speaking. He was unable to work, and without a home. “I was living in places of last resort,” he said, and that included the Portland Rescue Mission.
Through the help of Northwest Pilot Project, Transition Projects and emergency housing funds, he was able to get out of the shelter and into his own apartment.
“I want to see how our legislators are addressing the problem of housing,” Henderson said. “I want to make sure our representatives know how important it is to us.”
Ron Deason, 65, had a long career in construction work when he had an accident in 2005. It left him unable to work in the field. He had saved up a year’s worth of his salary for tough times and received a settlement for his injury, but the money ran out while he waited for his Social Security Insurance to arrive. In all, he waited three years.
“I went from hero to zero just from falling and getting hurt,” he says.
He lost his home, and lived in his car for seven months. In the woods where he parked his car, he saw generations of homelessness — grandfathers, fathers and sons, he says. He caught pneumonia and ended up in the hospital for seven days and $150,000. He had no insurance and no money. But with assistance to tide him over, he’s back on his feet and in housing. He was in Salem, he says, “because I don’t want anybody to go through what I went through.”
Amal Ahmed wanted to tell her representative about how important basic services were in keeping her family going after they emigrated from Somalia in 1996 to escape violence. Her mother came here with three young children to care for, and she soon became very ill. She was suffering from seizures and acute depression stemming from past trauma, and the opportunity for new work never arrived.
“If there was no system at that moment, no program supporting people, no energy assistance or housing programs or medical programs, my family wouldn’t be where we are now,” Ahmed says. Ahmed now works for Human Solutions, which helps find and secure stable housing for other families struggling to get by.
Pat came to support better access to housing for tenants with Section 8 vouchers. She learned first hand how difficult it is to find a landlord to lease to a Section 8 recipient. After 60 days, she was unable to find an apartment to lease to her, and she lost the voucher. Pat’s friend, Deborah Olson, came on the same issue, and handed to her lawmaker a recent newspaper’s classified section with the “No Section 8” ads circled in red.
“Even if the ad didn’t say “No Section 8,” they told me so when I was there,” Pat said.
There were many others with similar stories.
John Wood is unable to work because he has Parkinson’s disease. He is both a resident and board member with Northwest Housing Alternatives, without which he says he would not have a place to live. Like many others there that day, it was his first time in the State Capitol building.
“These are our people and we’ve got to take care of our people,” Wood said, noting that the experience instills a greater sense of ownership in the legislative process.
“You realize how important we are. This is extremely important what we’re doing,” Wood said.
“Unless you do something yourself, nothing is going to get done,” Deason said. “To stand on your feet and have some pride. When you lose your pride, you’ve lost your fight.”
Deason had 15 minutes with his representative, Jules Bailey (D-Portland).
“I’ve never been involved in something like this before,” he said afterward. “It’s kind of nice going there and seeing someone who cares. They look you right in the eyes.”