Meet Linda

Meet Linda and her loving memory of Sonny,

Her story started with two words in a single message “I’m homeless”. We respond with a hello and the messages slowly continue back and forth as some tentative trust was built. It took some time to build these bridges, but we eventually learned her name was Linda and her story started being shared. The following is a precious story of life events and memories of her beloved Sonny. It is told not in person or on the phone, but instead it arrived by text messages over a 3 month period.

Linda started in June, “I'm just writing things down as I remember. It's been a long 62 years. I never knew that was our last day together. Had a great day and a lot of fun. We had visited my grand-daughter and spent time at her house then went on to see others because we had been gone from Pennsylvania for a long time. He was so sweet! All day he kept telling me that I was beautiful and that he loved me. I said maybe u need new glasses.”

She continues the emotional story, “I heard him get up, then we all hear this big boom. He had fallen so hard. Do ya know that boy brought Sonny back for a brief moment? I had no clue that it was his heart. My grandson, my poor baby. He can't seem to move on. That was his Papa, and although he tried to save him, he too, watched the life drain from his Papa’s body”.

“My life turned upside down and twisted all around. So cherish every moment that you have in your life. Cause in the blink of an eye things can change. I'll write more later. Kind of brought tears to my eyes remembering”.

The texting slowed while she was working through health issues in July but she kept in contact: “Once I got back here, I was able to function again. I think cause here is where the most recent memories of him were. It was good for the first year. I paid rent. I'll never stay anywhere unless I can pay. - August first will be a year since I have been homeless. I don't know how much more of this I can handle. I'm a strong woman, but I'm tired”.

And then story came full circle in August, “I didn't talk much about being homeless but my story should show lame ass people that it can happen to anyone. I never ever worried about becoming homeless. I raised my kids on my own and we had a home. So the people that think that their crap doesn't stink should be watching for karma, she's wicked and will give them what they deserve. Remember to cherish every single moment with those you love... We were not promised a rose garden. And when all odds are against you. Hold on to each other always”.

I felt that this story didn’t need anything else. It's all right here: trauma, grief, bereavement. Life steals from you in many ways and sadly, no one takes the time to hear other people’s stories and understand that there are many paths to being without a home. And then the path back is also not an easy one, even when you do everything right.

I deeply want to thank Linda for trusting and sharing with us a little glimpse into her life and what its been like. Can we give her some love, hope, and encouragement please?

Join us in being persistent in seeking solutions that help all parts of our community, including our unhoused neighbors. You are invited to our upcoming Walk A Mile in Our Shoes awareness walk October 6 where we can gather and get to know each other and share perspectives and hopes for better housing justice for all. Register for the event and order your fundraising t-shirt at

http://www.outsidersinn.org/index.php/walkamile

~ Ren & Adam

Meet Debra

Meet Deborah

“Before I lost my home I wasn't doing that well. I had really been isolating and was fearful of so many people. Being here, having a purpose and learning to communicate with all the different types of people has actually made me stronger and more socially healthy.” Deborah proudly shares with us about her experience volunteering and using services at the Navigation Center.

When we first met her during the severe weather shelter season she was brand new to the situation and struggling. We understood the anger, frustration, the shock of losing everything and having to somehow pick and choose what is truly needed and what maybe isn’t so important when it all seems so terrifying to consider. Asking the questions frantically to yourself over and over: “What do I absolutely HAVE to have? What can I try to live without? Can I store something somewhere? And then feel the literal weight of how do you manage to carry what you DO decide to take with you? Debra went through all of this with her two little terriers at the end of their tangled leashes. These little dogs at the time made managing life just a little more complex and terrifying, but as we welcomed her into the safe space, we knew she was exhausted and trying the best she can.

So many people question, why do homeless people have pets? Pets are their family and sometimes their only companions. They have all lost their home at the same time. Those furry babies all of a sudden become the only priority. They also sometimes become the one thing that fuels a person to keep going.

Now a few months later we bump into her again at The Vancouver Navigation Center and her little fur family is making progress! She smiles and says hello! She agreed with us that it’s true if you are tenacious and persistent, you can eventually get some help, but it’s not always the way you would think it would happen. Debroah is currently in the women's shelter and she goes to the Navigation Center almost daily when they have to leave the shelter space so she isn’t far from a bathroom and can get other services like laundry taken care of. More importantly she has found a way to be useful and have a purpose there in that space. Deborah is known as the Coffee Lady at the Center as she keeps the warm cups of coffee flowing and the area clean and stocked.

On a recent night as the good neighbor meeting was happening, there you see Deborah and her little dogs in a stroller off to the side. This meeting was another one where some of the voices of the meeting turned angry and it became abusive towards the homeless population and those that serve them as a whole. For us to witness it all and the categorizing of a whole population in front of this sweet caring woman who was helping to serve them all coffee left us with an ache in our souls. Here was Deborah, a sweet natured woman who isn't presenting mental health issues, addiction, or any thing that someone could point to specifically for her homelessness, except maybe physical struggles and that rent is continuing to rise as incomes stay fixed. She stood there right in the mix of all this anger and controversy serving coffee and trying to smile, showing us and everyone there if they just opened their eyes that anyone could be the next person affected by homelessness. Deborah is just another example that we are all just one major life event away from losing our homes and having to face the judgement of people who have no idea how it feels to work through some of the hardest parts of your life and still remain human and connected to community.

Join us in being persistent in seeking solutions that help all parts of our community, including our unhoused neighbors. You are invited to our upcoming Walk A Mile in Our Shoes awareness walk October 6 where we can gather and get to know each other and share perspectives and hopes for better housing justice for all. Register for the event and order your fundraising t-shirt at

http://www.outsidersinn.org/index.php/walkamile

~ Ren & Adam

Meet Misty

Meet Misty

Misty has a message to all those going through homelessness right now. She encourages others to stay strong and "don't let this sh** change you."
As she puts it, "Living on the streets is hard and you end up doing things you never thought you would do. No matter what, be true to who you are." Going on her almost 7th year of being without a home she says with experience, "I'm not homeless cause home is truly where your heart is." She admits she has struggled with addiction and continues to work hard on it all. She just recently got approved for housing assistance and is currently searching for an apartment. She told us "I'm doing everything I'm supposed to be doing this time. I am getting way to old for this."

Meet Kyla and Mark

Meet Kyla and Mark

It was a string of events that lead them to where they ended up. They are loving parents and now grandparents. They have been proud, active and productive community members in other parts of the state - and then they were humbled when they realized any one can become homeless and getting out of the situation takes a lot of work, prayer and community to rise up from the ashes of a life turned upside down.

These days there are so many negative assumptions being thrown around about what type of people are homeless. As advocates our biggest battle is often with entitled folks who don't even walk the sidewalks these days, but instead make rude comments and take pictures from their cars during their commutes or when going out to dinner or lunch. These judgemental people never really have conversations with the residents of Clark County that live outside in every neighborhood, but they will angrily tell you with shock value who and what our unhoused population is about. The question we ask is the anger and judgment they post and campaign at meetings with, is that a perspective rooted in truth or community care?

Community is made up of people of all sorts and abilities and that includes everyone, whether they are housed or unhoused. Every neighborhood has its share of litterers, drug addicts, alcoholics, mentally ill, criminals - and these people live here among the housed and those outside. Every community also has leaders, teachers, and advocates, and that also includes the homeless community.

This is where Kyla and Mark come in, they have been part of the campers at the public service center living in tents. While there, they worked hard and have developed a relationship with security and with all the other campers in the area to build a safe space with what they have. They help with communicating right and wrong to assist all involved, especially when some one was having a problem or wasn’t following common sense values. Being “Momma Hen and Mr Fix It”, they are always looking out for those around them.

This is because no matter where Kyla and Mark are at, even when they are homeless on our streets, they attempt to be role models and leaders. Leaders are people that set the example and model the behavior that others can look up to and realize if they can do it, so can I. And trust, us, setting the example while living outside is no easy task. But they do it even while navigating the challenges of trying to find a place to live and connect here in Vancouver.

Kyla and Mark's continued hard work in ignoring the judgements of others and instead connecting themselves with true community care and building relationships will soon pay off as they have been accepted into the Rapid Re-Housing program. Now they need to find a place within the city limits of Vancouver - a studio or 1-bedroom for under a $1000.

As Kyla and Mark have always tried to be there for those around them, we are hoping our community can help be there for them too. Does anyone have a good lead on a place matching that criteria where this couple can be a part of helping our community find roots and thrive? If so, leave a comment or pm us and we will get the information to them.

Their guidance and support will surely be missed among the campers when they finally move into their new space, but we know great things are in store for them. We anticipate that they will be supporting OutsidersInn on some upcoming events in the works, and we just know that Kyla and Mark are going to be strong advocates for human rights and deeper community care in the future of Vancouver.

~ Adam & Ren

Olivia's Homeless Dog Drive

Ren here...Hello!

I had a moment today where I was in the warm van with my spoiled dog getting a treat - and I started remembering the past times when we were living in our van along the hot summer California coast. That heat pushed us North to hopefully find some relief and safety. I couldn't leave the van - if I closed it to keep it safe he would suffer, or the window even if left partially open it was at risk of being broken by a well meaning person of privilege or broken in by someone not meaning to be nice at all. I had already received a few notes stuck to my partially open window when I returned from a bathroom break or short trip into a store for necessities stating how terrible I was for leaving him there. I would say, "Where should I leave him?" This was our house for the time being! We both lived in that heat and did the best we could do in it. Together.

Meet Jeanine

Meet Jeanine

It's the cascade effect. She said, “Just look at me. You would think by the way that I look that I’ve been homeless for 20 years.” The reality is that Jeanine's fall into homelessness was about 5 years ago. A single mom put into unsafe situations which lead her to hard choices - a roof over their head or safety for her and her son. Before being faced with those options, she had a successful career and was paying on a home and had relationship with all its ups and downs.

Her story is similar to many. What happens is that it all starts with one thing, and then the snowball effect comes rolling down the hill. It is something that could happen to any of us. First an injury on the job and then payments can’t be made. Next you realize that because of the injury you can’t do very much, or in the same way you use to. Then the house gets taken, and your labeled disabled now. You come to realize you might never make the same amount of money again . Your husband or wife dies. Even more grief. You try and trust a new person and they show themselves to be unsafe. You send your child to stay with extended family in hopes of safety for them. Your alone, a car accident happens and your injured even more. Through doctor appointments and recovery you are trying to understand housing programs and benefits. You are trying to live on no money at all and make it in a cold, hungry world.

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