What causes homelessness? Is it mental illness or drug abuse or early childhood trauma? The answer is yes, yes, and yes. And everything all at once. As Audrey, one of our Shepherd’s Door participants will tell you: “When you don’t feel hopeful and you don’t feel safe, those become reasons to use.” According to the…
Read MoreMy name is Sandy Pannell. I have been serving at Shepherds Door with women from my church, First Orthodox Presbyterian Church, since 2011.
Read MorePortland Rescue Mission opens their Burnside Shelter dining room doors to the public for the first time in over two years.
Read More“I want to do something to help, but I just have no idea what to do!”
Read MoreMy name is Eva Calcagno and I’ve been volunteering to plan, cook, and serve dinners at Shepherd’s Door for four years. I work with a team of people from St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Southwest Portland. We started serving at the Burnside Mission once a month and then added Shepherd’s Door. We cooked 6 times…
Read MoreMary’s Sorrow Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord…
Read Moreby Leah Hay, Grant Writer, and Business Partnership Specialist:
Read MoreAt first being homeless didn’t really bother me, I had friends and a lot of places to go.But when I became addicted to drugs, was on the street in a new town . . . I was so scared and alone. . . on the street, you can’t trust anyone. Christina, a graduate of Shepherd’s…
Read MoreFor Marianne, the nighttime was especially difficult. “I felt lost, confused. I didn’t have much energy or desire to try to stop using drugs. I was in an unhealthy relationship. I was distant from my family. I didn’t have any hope. I didn’t really see myself being able to be a normal person.” …
Read MoreWomen and children are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population. In addition to those already on the street, thousands are “couch-surfing” and considered just one step away from homelessness. “Its hard out here on the streets. Its scary. I’ve put my life in danger, sleeping under the bridge where there’s nobody there…
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