Reflecting on PHFS' History pt. 2
The second post in a series highlighting our long-term volunteers!
These two women helped found Goose Hollow Family Shelter (now PHFS) in 1994, and they are still deeply involved today! Find out what has kept them inspired.
ED Brandi (with scissors) and Sonja (to her right) at the ribbon cutting to open Family Village!
Name: Sonja Connor
Length of Involvement: 27 years
What has inspired you to stay involved for so long? I have always been inspired to work in ways that would result in families with children getting out of homelessness - permanently! Better yet is to prevent families from becoming homeless in the first place.
Sonja (L) with Phyllis (R) celebrating a birthday at a board meeting.
How have you seen PHFS evolve and change over the years? PHFS continues to evolve! PHFS has met many challenges and found ways to create new programs that better meet the needs of our families. PHFS continues to listen carefully to families we serve, and then innovate to better support the dignity and autonomy of each family unit. Attending to equitable care and opportunity if paramount, and the PHFS team continues to grow in all of these life-giving ways.
Do you have any specific memories of Goose Hollow or Thirteen Salmon? One of my mealtimes at Goose Hollow, I sat down with a single mom who surprised me. She was finishing up a Fisheries Professional Program at PCC. She had two school-age boys with her in the shelter. Finances became short as she was in the last term of her college work, and they lost their home. She hoped this time would be short, as she would have a certificate for a job in several months. We have plenty to learn from our families, and our team listens carefully! I've always been impressed with our very skilled and caring staff.
Evelyn with her Volunteer Award
Evelyn brought a group of friends to Goose Hollow to provide hair cuts
Name: Evelyn Harry
Length of Involvement: 27 years
How have you seen PHFS evolve and change over the years? On my 80th birthday I retired from 15 years on the Goose Hollow (then PHFS) board. Over the years our work changed; from deciding what kind and how many mats to buy, to dreaming of a building of our own; from serving up to 8 families from 6:30 PM to 7:30 AM from November to April to serving 25 families 24/7/365.
Do you have any specific memories of Goose Hollow or Thirteen Salmon? I will never forget Sarah. It was her first night at Goose Hollow. As soon as we went to the gym and set up the family private spaces, Sarah laid down for a moment. Immediately she was sound asleep and snoring loudly. Her two pre-teens played with the other children, then had showers and went to bed. Sarah slept soundly and snored loudly all night. In the morning she came to me and apologized. She said, "I know I snored all night. I am so embarrassed. We have been living in my car for two weeks. I was so afraid for my girls I stayed awake. When we came here I knew they were safe. I was able to go to sleep. Please forgive me."
Reflecting on PHFS' History
Hear from long-time volunteers about our past and its impact on today
In PHFS' early days at Goose Hollow, we were 100% volunteer run. Since then, PHFS has been supported by thousands of generous volunteers. We value our rich history and the many community members who have helped shaped PHFS into the organization we are today. Hear from some of our long-term volunteers as they reflect on our past and what inspires them to stay involved.
John and Pat representing PHFS at a community tabling event
Pat (left) and three friends provide dinner at Goose Hollow.
John and Pat laughing with PHFS Director of Community Engagement, Bethany, at a Volunteer Appreciation party
Name: John & Pat Gruher
Length of Involvement: 12+ years
How have you seen PHFS evolve and change over the years? When we started, PHFS was a cold weather night shelter (November to April) only with Brandi and two part time managers. It is amazing to see what it has grown into. The initial focus was on shelter and food. Now it continues to address those concerns, but has grown to include housing support, personal support, and preventing homelessness from happening.
Do you have any specific memories of Goose Hollow or Thirteen Salmon? We remember families that had been living in their car and were so grateful for a warm place to stay. We remember the families that thanked us for dinner (and came back for second and third helpings). We remember a woman who kept saying over and over how thankful she was to feel safe again. We remember the small children that ate breakfast in their pajamas. And we especially remember the kindness and patience of the staff working to help these families.
Name: Phyllis Leonard
Phyllis presenting at our annual Family Reunion Fundraiser in 2016
Length of Involvement: 10 years
What inspired you to get involved? I love cooking, and after my kids grew up, I wanted to offer my food to others who might appreciate some comfort, and thought that the Goose Hollow Shelter would be a perfect place to share my food and make connections with other families. Soon after that, I joined the board!
Phyllis and PHFS Executive Director, Brandi, at the Family Reunion
What inspires you to stay involved? PHFS continues to evolve! PHFS has met many challenges and found ways to create new programs that better meet the needs of the families. PHFS continues to listen carefully to families we serve, and then innovate to better support the dignity and autonomy of each family unit. Attending to equitable care and opportunity if paramount, and the PHFS team continues to grow in all of these life-giving ways.
Do you have any specific memories of Goose Hollow or Thirteen Salmon? One of my mealtimes at Goose Hollow, I sat down with a single mom who surprised me. She was finishing up a Fisheries Professional Program at PCC. She had two school-age boys with her in the shelter. Finances became short as she was in the last term of her college work, and they lost their home. She hoped this time would be short, as she would have a certificate for a job in several months. We have plenty to learn from our families, and our team listens carefully! I've always been impressed with our very skilled and caring staff.
Check back next week for part two in this series!
Garden Update
Over the past year, Rob has been tending to our outdoor veggie garden and indoor plants. This is the first of a series of regular updates about our garden programming!
By Rob Stewart, Shelter Coordinator
As you may know, the landscaping and plants at Family Village were designed to create a welcoming and peaceful environment for our guests and foster a sense of community. These include fruit trees, colorful flowers, native plants to attract wildlife, and last but not least an area for growing vegetables and herbs.
The vegetable garden serves multiple purposes. It provides healthy food for our families, offers a ton of opportunities for family engagement, and is a relaxing spot to gather. The veggie beds are adjacent to a picnic table and playground, and arranged around a fountain which attracts birds and kids both.
We had to adjust some of our planned programming and activities in 2020, but with a little improvisation, our first year went really well! Both kids and parents participated in our socially-distanced planting activities. It was great to see folks buzzing around the garden digging and planting and fertilizing as a team, even if it got very muddy a couple times (children + dirt + garden hose). Each session there were one or two kids who soaked up every bit of planting knowledge I could teach them, I'm pretty sure we started some lifelong gardeners on those days.
In addition to shelter staff using the produce for meals, families also harvested the vegetables and herbs straight from the garden themselves. The snackable veggies were especially popular - we learned that we need more than two cherry tomato plants next season as we could hardly keep them on the vines! Same with chili peppers. Chard - not quite as popular, go figure.
It's now April and spring is officially underway - the peas have sprouted and the lettuce is starting to plump - and we have some plans for expanding the garden, along with indoor plant activities. It's pretty exciting. I'll be posting entries about these as we go along, so keep an eye on this space!
The Grass is Always Greener
How PHFS’ trauma-informed exterior design inspired one family
By Tony Aponte, Shelter Coordinator
Many of us have heard the old adage, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence”. It appears this is not the case for guests at Portland Homeless Family Solution (PHFS). Sometimes the grass is greenest in our own backyard, as recent shelter guest, Paul, found.
During one of my overnight shifts, Paul shared the exciting news that he received the last document he needed to secure permanent housing for his family. He went on and on about how much he appreciated being here, and the support of our staff. He talked about how inspired he was to be in a shelter that was so nice, and he specifically commented on the grass. His focus on the grass stuck with me. How can a few small patches of grass inspire someone this much? It then registered with me that this was exactly what the grass was meant to do.
Family Village Outdoor Campus
Photo by Aaron Leitz, provided by Jessica Helgerson Interior Design
PHFS was planned using trauma-informed design both inside our buildings and outside of our facilities. Trauma-informed design focuses on creating an environment that is inspiring and meant to build self-esteem. While COVID restrictions have kept many of our families from the trauma-informed design elements of our main building, the outside areas have been lovingly cared for by our amazing volunteers. This care and attention, combined with a supportive staff available to guests 24 hours a day, inspired Paul and his family.
When many people think of homeless shelters, they envision a large warehouse or gym filled with people. These shelters do exist and serve an important role in providing immediate and emergency care, but they are not designed to help people reclaim their lives and end their homelessness for good. These crowded emergency shelters do not create an environment that inspires people to improve their lives. PHFS is different.
Imagine being a single parent living in a makeshift tent on a bike trail with four children. This environment would not create a feeling of security. It would likely consist of overgrown patches of grass and considerable amounts of litter. Families in this situation would be functioning in survival mode and any thoughts about the future would be replaced by an urgency to meet immediate needs. This family would be in a constant state of trauma. The longer they remained in this situation, the more internalized the trauma would become, and even when they moved into a better environment, that trauma and loss would remain. This is even true when people first arrive at PHFS - meaningful change does not occur instantly upon arrival. The trauma remains.
But our trauma-informed environment provides respect and dignity for the families who come to our shelter. It shows them that they are valued. For Paul, the lawn at PHFS demonstrated that the staff and volunteers at PHFS cared about him and his family. It inspired hope.
For Paul and his family, the grass will always be greenest here at PHFS.
PHFS Hires Educator to Work with Kids
As COVID-19 disrupts education, services, and life across the country, children and youth experiencing homelessness are especially vulnerable. Parents in this situation do not have the option to enroll their children in private pods, hire tutors, or afford daycare to educate and care for their children while they work.
We are thrilled to share that we recently hired an Education Assistant to engage and support the homeless children and families living in shelter at Family Village to help them thrive in school!
Hear from life-long educator Elaine Vislocky about her first few weeks in this role.
I’ve always considered myself a life-long learner but I guess it would also be true to call me a life-long educator as well. Whether as a parent, classroom teacher, staff developer, or district administrator overseeing technology and curriculum, my passion is for sparking a love of learning. Most recently, I was traveling to school districts across the western US to help teachers improve their students’ literacy skills, but of course that came to a sudden halt last year.
Education Assistant, Elaine Vislocky, in Family Village’s Library
I shifted to part-time work for the past few years and have actively sought out opportunities to do meaningful volunteer work in my community during my free time. Having moved to Portland from a suburb just north of New York City, I saw this as a great way to become more connected to my new home. For a while I worked in the Old Town section of downtown Portland and, every day, saw evidence of people without homes. Naturally I decided that finding a way to help address this problem would be important and gratifying work.
I began volunteering at PHFS as a Kid Time Host, and helped out with whatever came up (e.g., mailings, moving to the new building, setting up for the holidays). As needs shifted and safety protocols limited engagement with residents, I wondered how kids were managing with school. I heard from former colleagues about the challenges of teaching during the pandemic and imagined how difficult it must be for families (both parents and kids!). I had difficulty imagining what it must be like for PHFS families and so I reached out to Director of Community Engagement, Bethany, to see how things were going and how I might help. Coincidentally, she shared that a new Educator Assistant position was waiting to be filled.
Since the position was new and dealing with the pandemic involved treading new territory, Executive Director, Brandi, and I shared our visions for what the position might accomplish and agreed that we needed to begin by gathering relevant information from the families about both their current experiences with school and their perceived needs. My goal was to gauge their needs with respect to access (to school, networks, hardware and software), ability to effectively use their resources, and motivation. The key to every effort I undertake is flexibility!
While I tried a paper needs assessment, face to face interactions (at a safe distance) have been the most effective. It is clear that when students are enrolled, they are well equipped with Chromebooks and know how to log on to their classes. I have been impressed with their ability to navigate smoothly from Google Meet to connect with their class, to Google Classroom to access their assignment, to a breakout room to share with a small group of classmates. The real challenge for students is staying focused and motivated. It’s difficult to engage with distant faces and voices for extended periods of time. Like adults who have transitioned to working from home, students have lost the boundary between being home and going to school. They are challenged to create new routines to keep them on track. I’ve noticed that PHFS students aren’t the only ones attending class while laying in bed!
I’ve recommended headsets to some kids to help them focus. It’s much easier to be attentive to a voice that’s right in your ear, especially when there are lots of other competing noises around you. I’ve sat nearby when students are online as a way to provide support, even if just through my physical presence. When possible, I question students so they can talk about their learning and I provide guidance when they are struggling. I’ve worked with some parents to get their pre-school kids connected with a HeadStart program and other parents to secure the help of an Outreach Coordinator to help their teenagers find an appropriate educational setting.
To provide motivation and enrichment, I have offered a schedule of what I call “Learning Bits” outside at a picnic table on different topics. One afternoon some kids joined me for virtual story time with the Oregon Symphony. We listened to Tanka Tanka Skunk, with percussion accompaniment. I have also been delivering books, puzzles, activities, and art supplies to individual kids based on their expressed interests.
As the Education Assistant, I believe one of my primary responsibilities is to help families feel connected and supported with regard to their educational needs. So when I see a child’s eyes sparkle at the sight of a book I’ve brought them, detect a grin of accomplishment after working together on a difficult problem, or hear a giggle of joy at the prospect of biking after the completion of a lesson, I feel a sense of accomplishment.
Support this program!
Holiday Gift Giving!
Thank you so much to the 100+ donors who gave toys, gifts, shelter supplies, gift cards, wrapping paper, decorations, and so much more! We were able to provide holiday gifts for 76 families made up of 184 kids!
Experiencing homelessness is hard. The families in our programs work hard every day at their jobs and parenting, all while trying to find an affordable place to rent in this town where rents are rising. This year, families have had the added stress of navigating all of this during the pandemic. “Stay Home, Stay Safe” is hard when you don’t have a home. Virtual school is hard when you live in a shelter.
By providing holiday gifts, you have made things a little bit easier for these parents so they can focus on what’s really important this time of year - spending time together as a family. In-kind donations are a crucial part of our support system and we couldn’t support families without them.
One year in Family Village!
One year ago today we opened Family Village, Oregon's first shelter featuring trauma-informed design and architecture. We wanted to share a few highlights from this unprecedented year.
February
We hosted the Lullaby Project at Family Village for the first time. Participants included 7 moms and our first dad to co-create a lullaby. The songs this year are so much more positive and hopeful, likely because of the influence that trauma-informed design had on the process.
March
The covid-19 pandemic arrived in Oregon, and we went on lock down. We worked closely with public health to create guidelines to keep Family Village safe from the spread of covid.
With schools closed and families furloughed from work, we delivered food boxes to families all over town.
May
Our playground was installed and we planted our vegetable garden for the first time, working with the kids in shelter to create a beautiful harvest. We used produce from the garden in our lunch and dinner meals all season long!
June
We received $90,000 of CARES Act money to provide $500 gift cards to 175 families. This went a long way to prevent homelessness and ensure housing stability during the height of the covid-19 pandemic.
August
Our board member John Devlin hosted his annual Back to School Backpack Drive and got enough backpacks and supplies donated for more than 100 kids! For distance learning, backpacks included school supplies, plus lap desks, headphones, and Old Navy gift cards.
September
Our board and staff kicked off a strategic planning process for Phase 2 of our Capital Campaign where we hope to build housing and additional wrap-around services on the undeveloped back parking lot at Family Village.
October
We hosted our first Virtual Family Reunion and had so much fun welcoming guests behind the scenes of Family Village and showcasing intimate interviews with our staff and families. We also hosted a socially distanced, outdoor Harvest Fest for the families at Family Village to infuse some joy into the shelter. It was a huge success with carnival games, costumes, and pizza.
December
We hired an education assistant to help support families in shelter with distance learning and education. They will provide one-on-one help to each family to make sure they have the appropriate technology and work space, and to support them in their learning and homework process.
We also hosted our first ever Adopt a Family holiday giveaway, and we have had overwhelming response. We’re able to provide presents to over 150 kids, and a family gift filled with with hot cocoa, gingerbread houses, and games and activities to do together.
This was an unusual and challenging year. Not only did PHFS continue to serve families every day during the pandemic, we also expanded services to help more families.
Please continue to invest in PHFS so more families can stay at Family Village and receive trauma-informed, culturally competent services that help people heal and thrive.
Farewell to our beloved Program Director, Kurt
It is with mixed emotions that we share that PHFS’ long-term Program Director, Kurt Briggs-Ungerer, is leaving PHFS. He has held the Program Director role at PHFS for over 10 years and has been instrumental in creating the inclusive, trauma informed organization that PHFS is today. Kurt is leaving PHFS so he can better support his family and young children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the last decade, Kurt has built a strong infrastructure in our housing and shelter programs, which are now poised to continue Kurt’s legacy of providing strengths-based, supportive, client-centered services at PHFS. Kurt has always been known as an incredibly supportive supervisor and has been called “my favorite boss ever” by a number of different staff at PHFS.
“I will always love and respect PHFS, our staff, our families, and everyone else involved with our village. I know that I am leaving PHFS in great hands and you all will continue to do the fantastic, compassionate work you do so well! Obviously, my decision to leave did not come lightly, but I need to support my family, including my two young children, during this global pandemic. I will miss you and everyone involved with PHFS so much!”
Kurt’s last day as Program Director will be December 1st, though Kurt will be sticking around for the month of December as a consultant to help ease the transition. We are so thankful for Kurt’s leadership and we are confident that the structure he has built will serve PHFS for many years to come. Kurt will be very missed and will always be part of our PHFS village.
While it will be challenging to fill his shoes, PHFS has posted the Program Director Job Announcement on our website. Please share with your networks and help PHFS find our next program director.
Brandi and Kurt at a volunteer celebration party in 2010.
Kurt, Mary, and Carl (the housing team!) working at the PHFS office in 2013 at Goose Hollow Family Shelter.
Kurt and Steve at Holiday Village in 2010.
Kurt, Brandi, and the PHFS staff at Thirteen Salmon Family Center in 2015.
Brandi and Kurt all dressed up at the Family Reunion Fundraiser in 2016!
Our operations team celebrating the success of our Capital Campaign to purchase our Family Village Campus in 2018!
Every family deserves a place to call home.
PHFS is here to help families get housing, and then keep it.
Dear friends,
During this season of holiday gratitude, we want you to know that we are so grateful for your past support of PHFS. Investments from community members like you have allowed PHFS to be on the forefront of providing innovative services for over ten years.
PHFS is known for pioneering our upstream approach to preventing homelessness, for being early adopters of the housing first approach, and for integrating trauma-informed design and architecture into the built environment at our Family Village campus.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of need for our programs. Over 3,300 students experience homelessness each year in Multnomah County, and right now hundreds of families are on a waitlist for shelter and help moving back into housing.
When you do the math, you start to see why so many families need help: because many jobs don’t provide a living wage, and housing is really expensive. Families pay too much of their income on housing and don’t have enough left over for their family’s household needs. Many families just can’t make ends meet and end up experiencing homelessness with their kids.
That’s where PHFS comes in. Ideally, PHFS hears from families right before they lose their housing, so our homeless prevention program can help before the crisis hits and help families keep their homes. If not, families have a safe space to shelter together at Family Village where trauma-informed design helps them heal from the stress and trauma of homelessness. While in shelter, parents work with a housing specialist to move quickly back into housing. We provide a rent subsidy for at least a year to help families stabilize in housing.
Our housing team builds trusting relationships with families so we can support them in accomplishing their goals and improving their lives – like getting a new job that makes more money, or going back to school to learn a trade that pays a living wage. What we do works - 90% of families stay housed long-term.
We have adapted our programs to serve families even during the covid-19 pandemic. Please continue your investment and make a donation to PHFS’ critical programs that empower homeless families with children to get back into housing – and stay there.
Warmly,
Brandi Tuck
Executive Director
P.S. Over the last year, our critical services helped 1,234 kids and parents end their homelessness for good. With your support, we can help even more families next year.
Do The Math
This is a monthly budget of a family in our programs. PHFS subsidizes this family’s rent so they can afford the rest of their expenses.
PHFS works with families to help them get better jobs and find more affordable housing so they can keep their housing long-term.
What’s missing?
Families often live paycheck to paycheck. This family couldn’t budget for emergencies, savings, or after school activities for their kids.
Kelly’s Violin
2020 has been a year of full of cancellations, full of nos, and full of loss. With all of the darkness this year, we wanted to share something really special happening at right now at our Family Village shelter.
6th grader Kelly started her beginning orchestra class this year. But Kelly didn’t have a violin, so we coordinated with our friends at Oregon Symphony who procured a violin for Kelly to practice on.
Our Shelter Coordinator, Steve, shared the experience of giving Kelly the violin:
“Kelly received her violin this morning, and she was absolutely beaming. It was so wonderful to see. We talked about how an instrument becomes like part of your body and how music is connected to math, nature, and how all things are intertwined. She said she felt like music is a great way to express her emotions in a safe and positive way. She is so excited about her orchestra friends and believes they are friends she will treasure forever.”
In addition to finding Kelly a violin, we needed to find Kelly a quiet and safe place to practice. This wasn’t an easy task in a communal living shelter during a pandemic, but our covid-19 task force collaborated and was able to find her a private room three afternoons a week. One of our Shelter Coordinators, Chrissy, is even giving her weekly lessons.
In a world full of so much stress and division, these are the conversations going on at PHFS – talking about where Kelly can play her violin.
Services Update
Learn how we have adapted our programs to continue to meet the needs of families experiencing homelessness during this unprecedented time.
Family Village Shelter
Housing Program
Prevention Program
Volunteer Program
Virtual Family Reunion Wrap Up
We exceeded our fundraising goal and raised more than $216,000!
Thank you to everyone who watched the event, bid in the auction, and gave generously. We truly felt like we had families supporting families more than ever before.
If you were moved by the stories of resilient families, please share the recording with your friends and families so more people can learn about the important work happening at PHFS.
Missed the event? Watch the recording! Skip ahead to 25:13 to begin.
Thanks to our Sponsors!
Family Village Update
Spring has sprung! We have eleven raised beds with vegetables and herbs. This is our first spring at Family Village and it's been so fun to see flowers blooming all over the campus.
We continue to operate Family Village at full capacity. We're more grateful than ever to have individual private bedrooms that help with social distancing. Sadly, all of our common spaces are closed, but we're still serving meals and following public health guidelines to keep all of the staff and families safe. Spoiler alert: it's a lot of cleaning!
Our housing and prevention programs also continue full steam ahead. Just this week, one of the moms in shelter found out that she was approved to move into an apartment. She is so excited to move her two girls into the safety of their very own home.
While rewarding, doing this work right now is incredibly challenging and expensive. We've had to continually adapt our programming to meet changing public health guidance, and we have had to source scarce and expensive personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies.
We don't know what the future holds, but we do know that families without homes have been, and will continue to be, more vulnerable to the effects of this virus. We also know that PHFS will be here to support these families no matter what.
Please consider a donation to PHFS' COVID-19 response fund to make sure we can continue operating our critical services during this pandemic.
Family Village Virtual Backgrounds
Who else has attended 1,000 Zoom meetings in the last few weeks? The PHFS Staff sure has! Our staff who have been working from home miss spending time in our beautiful new Family Village Campus. We were only here together for three months before we had to social distance.
To make it feel like we’re still all together, we’ve been setting our virtual backgrounds to different rooms around the new building. We want you to be able to hang out in Family Village with us, so we’re sharing our backgrounds with you!
Next time you log onto Zoom, consider using one of these Family Village scenes as your background. We have shared some instructions on how to use them below the photos.
Hang out in Virtual Family Village!
Main Living Area
Kid Play Space
Rec Room
Living Room
Library
Office
How to use virtual backgrounds
First, save the images to your computer by right clicking and then selecting “save the image” onto your computer. You’ll have to right click and save each image individually.
Once you’re in your Zoom meeting, navigate to the bottom left near where it says “Stop Video.” Click the ^ arrow to the right of the “Stop Video” button.
Select “Choose Virtual Background”
Then choose the small “+” sign on the upper right to upload your Family Village images. Make sure you check the box “I have a green screen” (even if you don’t!) and uncheck “Mirror my video.” You will need to be in front of a relatively blank wall.
Then just Close the Virtual Background page and see yourself at Family Village! Have fun, and please take a photo and tag us in it!
Instagram: @pdx_hfs
Twitter: @pdx_hfs
Facebook: @Portland Homeless Family Solutions
LinkedIn: @Portland Homeless Family Solutions
Photos by Christopher Dibble Photography.
Staying Engaged while Staying at Home
Many of us find ourselves at home with extra time on our hands. We asked PHFS staff to share their favorite media that focus on housing, homelessness, anti-oppression, or social justice.
Title: Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
Type: Book
Platform: Get the ebook from the library or buy from Powells online
Staff: Emma, Development Director
Synopsis: Matthew Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they each struggle to keep a roof over their heads…Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible. Source: https://www.evictedbook.com/
Title: Insecure
Type: TV Show
Platform: HBO
Staff: Brandi, Executive Director
Why she recommends it: This is a show on HBO about a black woman, Issa, who works at a nonprofit called "We Got Y'all." They provide after school programs and resources to black and brown kids in public schools. The nonprofit's leadership and the majority of their staff is white. The show really highlights how institutionally and systemically oppressive and racist nonprofits can be if they don't confront their white privilege and white savior complexes. Plus the cast is amazing!
Title: Little America
Type: TV Show
Platform: Apple TV
Staff: Lahela, Shelter Coordinator
Why she recommends it: Each episode is a beautiful true story of the success of immigrants in their own “little America”.
Title: The Motel Kids of Orange County
Type: Documentary
Platform: HBO
Staff: Carl, Housing Specialist
Why he recommends it: This documentary is set against the backdrop of the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and focuses on families who live out of motels. I feel like this doc reveals the complexity of families who are "stuck" paying to live in a temporary situation and not being able to find a long-term housing. Many of the families we work with are in situations just like this, with move in fees anywhere from $2-$3k before paying rent, utility hook up and service, phone, internet, food, clothing, child care, etc.
Title: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Type: Book
Platform: Get the ebook from the library or buy from Powells online
Staff: Brandi, Executive Director
Why she recommends it: Author Michelle Alexander confronts the reality that the election of Barack Obama did not signal a new era of colorblindness and that in fact racism, oppression, and slavery continue to this very day in America.
Title: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
Type: Book
Platform: Get the ebook from the library or buy from Powells online
Staff: Brandi, Executive Director
Why she recommends it: A book by Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel & Dimed tells the story of an undercover journalist who investigates the impact of the 1996 welfare reform on people who experience poverty in this country. It does a great job of showing how hard it is to navigate social services and how expensive it is to be poor.
Title: Frontline: Poverty, Politics, and Profit
Type: TV
Platform: Stream on PBS for free
Staff: Tasha, Administrative Coordinator
Why she recommends it: This was an incredibly informative film about the complex issue of affordable housing. It brings to light the challenges and politics surrounding this issue and allows us to see first-hand stories from every day people.
Title: Priced Out
Type: Documentary
Platform: Watch on Vimeo or check out for free on Kanopy with a library card
Staff: Samuel, Housing & Prevention Specialist
Synopsis: Exploring the complexities and contradictions of gentrification, Priced Out is a heartbreaking vision of the history of housing discrimination in the nation's whitest city, and the personal impact it has had on residents. Source: https://www.pricedoutmovie.com/
Title: Still Processing
Type: Podcast
Platform: New York Times, wherever you get your podcasts
Staff: Emma, Development Director
Why she recommends it: Still Processing is a pop culture podcast where they analyze everything with a social justice lens. It’s entertaining and so smart.
Title: Trigger Warning with Killer Mike
Type: TV Show
Platform: Netflix
Staff: Samuel, Housing & Prevention Specialist
Why he recommends it: The first episode of Trigger Warning with Killer Mike on Netflix is a really great, and entertaining, look at the effects and reality historic and systemic racism in the US.
Do you have recommendations to add to this list? Let us know!
Response to COVID-19
We wanted to let you all know that PHFS is taking the COVID-19 pandemic very seriously. Here are some of the steps we are taking to ensure our PHFS Village stays healthy and doesn't spread the virus:
We are asking families in shelter who have any symptoms of illness to self-quarantine in their private bedrooms and wear masks whenever they go to any common spaces. We have set up a separate dining area for people who have any symptoms of illness.
All staff and volunteers who have any symptoms of illness are being asked to stay home until they don't have a fever for at least 72 hours.
All other volunteer shifts are occurring as scheduled. If you are a member of a vulnerable population or are uncomfortable coming in for an upcoming volunteer shift for any reason, please inform us as soon as possible.
Of course, we are sanitizing surfaces and washing our hands a ton. We have hand washing and COVID-19 information for families in multiple languages.
We are practicing social distancing and trying to not get within 6 feet of another person.
We are postponing all scheduled events, including our March 25 Solution Salon and our March 25 Volunteer Training on Trauma Informed Care.
The Joint Office on Homeless Services is being very supportive with a ton of information, supplies like masks and sanitizer, and even $10,000 to each nonprofit service provider to help with coronavirus financial impacts.
Here are some helpful resources on COVID-19:
Oregon Health Authority COVID-19 Interim Shelter Guidance
Videos and link to COVID-19 updates and resources
Sign up for their updates email list
Info in different languages – Go to Home page and click on Novel coronavirus updates and scroll down to “Prevention” links
Housing services, which currently only has link to Interim Shelter Guidance
OHA’s Youtube Channel with multiple related videos
Press briefings live streamed at 2 pm every Monday and Thursday on their Youtube channel
Spring Impact Report
Every spring, we like to share an Impact Report with our PHFS Village so you can see the impact we made in the community over the last year. This is the most exciting Impact Report I ever remember writing, because I get to report that we opened Family Village to shelter 25 homeless families with children and expanded all of our PHFS programs!
We are trying to do something different at Family Village. We’re trying to show there’s a better way to provide shelter and services that helps people heal from the crisis and trauma of homelessness by building dignity, restoring power, and promoting autonomy.
I say those things all the time, but what do they really mean?
Building dignity means feeling like you matter. Like you have worth, acceptance, and love. It’s about being in collaborative relationships that focus on people’s strengths and expertise.
Restoring power means being able to make your own decisions without having your behavior micromanaged or controlled. It’s about feeling like you’re in control of your own life and like you have privacy when you need it. It’s about feeling safe, both in your surroundings and in your relationships.
Promoting autonomy is about respecting people and honoring their choices, even when you don’t agree with them. It’s about being able to express your family values, culture, and traditions openly and safely. It’s about setting and honoring boundaries, and being in healthy relationships that are built on trust.
That’s what we’re trying to do here at our beautiful Family Village campus, the first shelter of its kind featuring trauma informed design and architecture.
I say it every year, but this year it is more meaningful than ever – thank you so much to you, our PHFS Village, for helping PHFS expand and improve our programs in such powerful and innovative ways. Together, we are putting families first and creating solutions that help end family homelessness for thousands of kids and their parents.
Gratefully,
Brandi Tuck
Executive Director
Happy to be home for the holidays and beyond!
In our Homelessness Prevention Program, families who are on the brink of homelessness get help keeping their housing and never have to experience homelessness at all. PHFS pays back rent and utilities for families during times of emergency like an unexpected illness and medical bills, a car that breaks down, or suddenly losing hours at work.
Shelly received support from our Homelessness Prevention Program last week and wanted to share her story.
My name is Shelly, I am a single working mother of four boys. I have been a single mom pretty much all my life. I graduated college in 2000 and started working in the medical field where I remained for the last 17 years. Recently I made a career change and I am working at a law firm in downtown Portland. I am very lucky to have a decent job and great boys to raise and love.
I have always been a really active person in my community and a sports mom. I have always found a way to make ends meet for the boys and I with very little assistance. But last year my life changed without warning! I was diagnosed with a very rare genetic heart disease that cost me over $7,500.00 in medical expenses and many days off work. Over the holidays, I had a significant medical procedure and had to take time off without pay because I had already used all my vacation and sick time with previous procedures. This resulted in shut off notices for all my utilities, and I owed $400 in co-pays from previous hospital visits. My stable little life as I knew it was falling apart before my eyes and I felt so drowned.
I received an eviction notice in December and I was able to get an advance, which ultimately resulted in a shortage for January’s rent. My life was spiraling out of control fast and I felt hopeless. I reached out to seek services, but kept hearing they could only help me once I became homeless. The last thing I needed was to be sick and homeless with four beautiful children.
I googled “Homeless Prevention” and that’s when I saw some light at the end of the storm. I found Portland Homeless Family Solutions and spoke to someone immediately. The woman from PHFS was so kind and patient. She listened to my story, she was very honest and upfront, and connected me with Samuel [PHFS’ Housing & Prevention Specialist]. When Samuel called, it was like a prayer had been answered. He listened to me very patiently and told me about the program and the vision - how their goal is to keep people housed when they’re in a temporary bind like mine.
I had no idea how long this would take or if we would be homeless soon - it’s so cold outside. I have been a ball of nerves for weeks thinking about this. What happened next was like a miracle. Samuel emailed me, told me that my application was approved, and that they would be saving our home this month. In addition, he had already given a promissory note to the management and was in process of cutting a check. I could not believe this happened, I am so grateful and thankful!
These people are truly saving lives one home at a time!
Sincerely,
Shelly & Boys
Family Village Grand Opening!
This speech was originally given by PHFS Executive Director, Brandi Tuck, at the Grand Opening of Family Village in December 2019.
Photo by Motoya Nakamura / Multnomah County.
Good evening everyone and welcome for the first time to PHFS’ Family Village!
The front of Family Village
Christopher Dibble Photography
After two long years of a capital campaign, a real estate purchase, and a massive remodel - It is an overwhelming moment for PHFS right now as we open this beautiful, innovative space.
I am honored to share this moment with all of you tonight.
We are trying to do something different here at Family Village.
We’re trying to show that there’s a better way to shelter – a way that helps people heal from the crisis and trauma of homelessness through building dignity, restoring power, and promoting autonomy.
I say those things all the time, but let’s talk about what they means.
Building dignity – means feeling like you matter. Like you have worth, acceptance, and love. It’s about being in collaborative relationships that focus on people’s strengths and expertise.
Restoring power – means being able to make your own decisions without having your behavior micromanaged or controlled. It’s about feeling like you’re in control of your own life and having privacy when you need it. It’s about feeling safe, both in your surroundings and in your relationships.
Promoting autonomy – is about respecting people and honoring their choices, even when you don’t agree with them. It’s about being able to express your family values, culture, and traditions openly and safely. It’s about setting and honoring boundaries and being in healthy relationships that are built on trust.
View from the Rec Room looking down on the day shelter
Christopher Dibble Photography
That’s what we’re trying to do here at this beautiful Family Village campus, the first shelter of its kind featuring trauma informed design and architecture.
Research shows that trauma informed design leads to better outcomes for shelters – things like shorter shelter stays and greater success moving into housing.
We are honored to open this innovative new program together with our PHFS Village.
To say that opening Family Village is a community effort is an understatement. We have had hundreds of people and businesses step up to help over the last two years.
When I walk into Family Village, I feel the love, good will, and positive energy that radiates through this campus because of all of your contributions.
Thanks to each and every one of you for your donations, commitment, and passion for this project. We really couldn’t have created Family Village without the help of every single person in this room.
There are too many people to thank by name, but I have to call in a few people today, because they went so far above and beyond in their commitment to PHFS’ Family Village.
First, Jessica Helgerson and her two right hand ladies Andra and Heather, have put 800 hours of pro bono interior and architectural design into Family Village. Jessica shared my vision of building dignity for families, and she have taken it to levels I never could have imagined. Thank you Jessica.
View of the walking path and pet play area
Next, to our landscape architect Cathy Corlett who designed all of our outdoor areas, also pro bono. Cathy put so much love and research into our exterior landscape – focusing on elements that create joy, play, and connection.
Plus Cathy picked up a lot of the pieces for us when we just didn’t have capacity to think about many of the minute details.
Drew Anderson and Afton Walsh from Walsh Construction came in and lent a gentle, professional expertise that really helped save the day. We are so grateful that you stepped in to help, and I hope you know how much we appreciate you. Drew – you are my hero.
The folks at Stoel Rives including Mark, Geoff, Michael, and Kirk put so much time, love, and money into Family Village. We’ll never be able to thank you enough, especially Mark Morford, for building our fence and making our conference table, for putting in stair tread and painting ceilings, and hanging pictures, and anything we have asked of you.
Thanks to Ted, Jacob, and Curtis at Maul Foster Alongi who provided pro bono engineering help and so much patient guidance along the way. Everything I know about stormwater bioswales I learned from you.
Thanks to Andrea, Brian, and Corey from Carleton Hart Architecture for all of your guidance and help along the way.
Library
Christopher Dibble Photography
Thanks to Chris, Brenda, Kyle, and everyone involved with the Home Builders Foundation. You all pulled of quite a bit of miracles, many of them last-minute, and we appreciate your partnership.
Thank you to Heritage Bank, especially Kathy Swift and Emily Leach, for sponsoring this event tonight, and for your 2-years of support to help make this project happen. Kathy always says to reach out when you need her, and wow have we reached out!
She not only helped us buy our Moon Shot property, but she also does things like make potpourri sachets from dried roses that grow at Family Village. We appreciate everyone at Heritage Bank!
Thanks to Clear Water Construction Services including Dale, Phil, and CJ. We have had one helluva ride together, and I really appreciate you – especially Dale – sticking it out with us the whole way. This building is absolutely beautiful, and we are so grateful for your skilled craftmanship and hard work.
Thanks to all the volunteers who stepped up to help paint, install plants, stain the fence, paint the murals, put together furniture, break down cardboard, and so much more.
Thanks to Renee Gorham for providing our delicious Shalom Y’all catering tonight.
Thanks to Nancy Ives, the first chair cello from the Oregon Symphony, for gracing us with your beautiful music this evening.
One of four living rooms
Christopher Dibble Photography
Our PHFS Board has gone above and beyond in their commitment to this project. They have provided unrelenting support and belief in me and the staff, and they have been there with us every single step of the way. Thank you for being the most amazing board I could hope for.
And finally – thanks to our PHFS staff for all your wisdom in creating Family Village, and also your flexibility and patience during our very long transition when we felt like the pit in the middle of the parking lot would never go away.
Some people have stepped up in some major ways over the last few weeks, and I can’t say thank you enough for your hard work, your long hours, your creativity, flexibility, collaboration, and love that you put into PHFS and our Family Village. I have endless thanks and so much love for Ron, Bethany, Emma, Tasha, TC, and Kurt. Plus Michael, Danny, Derenda, Neal, and Wiley. We did it.
To have a vision, and then have a whole community get behind your vision, and then to have Jessica Helgerson take it to even the next level – is and will always be one of the greatest honors of my life.
Thank you so much to each and every one of you for helping make our Family Village a reality.
All content is the intellectual property of Portland Homeless Family Solutions. We respectfully request anyone who wishes to use this information ask permission, or reference PHFS when using it.
Thanks to the generosity of Christopher Dibble Photography for taking these beautiful photos pro-bono.
We're Expanding Every Program!
It’s finally here – PHFS is ready to open our Family Village campus to drastically expand our services to families experiencing homelessness. Family Village is so much more than shelter. It’s the home to all of PHFS’ services and programs, and we’re expanding every single service we offer.
This is a critical time for PHFS as we scale up to help three times as many families. Please consider an investment to help PHFS expand our services.