Before she made her way to the Reedway Safe Rest Village, Sarah had been living on the streets of Portland for 14 years.
After she was injured at work, she lost her job at a local factory. Deemed permanently disabled, she was prohibited from returning to work. She searched for similar jobs, but no one would hire her because of her disability rating. She eventually found herself unable to pay her bills. She lived in her car for a while and then ended up on the streets.
Near the beginning of winter in 2023, she and her dog Mister Mister were staying in a tent along a city bike path. As the cold began to set in, she spent one night praying that she would find a way to get indoors. As she got older, surviving the cold got harder and harder. The very next morning, she awoke to a caseworker asking her if she wanted to move to Reedway.
Her prayers unexpectedly answered, Sarah enthusiastically told the caseworker “yes,” and she found herself in her own tiny home within hours.
Sarah believes that the tiny homes are her true path to living on her own in permanent housing again. Unlike a shelter, she has the chance to live privately while still surrounded by members of her community. She honestly did not feel ready to move directly into an apartment, either, needing the support of Urban Alchemy and the other care coordinators operating at the site.
They’ve helped her get important documents, like her birth certificate and Social Security card, as well as file for disability. She’s quick to point out they never did the work for her – but they supported her and pushed her to do it herself. When she would go to community centers for help with these problems, she never made it all the way to the end of the process.
Living at Reedway has also given her the chance to process her trauma and transition out of survival mode while surrounded by members of her community and the caring Urban Alchemy staff.
Sarah is currently negotiating the move-in date for her own apartment. Thanks to Urban Alchemy, she finally feels like she has the tools and the mindset to live on her own in permanent shelter again.