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ShelterCare Behavioral Health program participant, Ronald, grew up in the rural parts of Oregon where it is more difficult to find mental health services, “I’ve had insomnia my entire life, and the best solution I could get there (Klamath Falls) or in La Pine was “we got a phonebook (to read),” he explains, “Have you ever heard of a sleeping pill? They never notice if you have anxiety or depression…and they were the professionals.”

Ronald has been in Eugene now for 12 years, 11 of which he has been with ShelterCare, “I went to WhiteBird and was connected (to ShelterCare) by the therapist I was seeing there,” he explains about the referral process, “ShelterCare was the first program I got into after WhiteBird and I stayed with it because they were a really great support group for me.”

ShelterCare’s Behavioral Health program provides mental health treatment to individuals diagnosed with a mental health condition, including trauma disorders, which often are related to the trauma and stress of homelessness. Current services include individual and group therapy, skills training, case management, telehealth, and healthcare coordination.

Ronald explains how these multifaceted services have helped him, “I was with ShelterCare for a year before my social security started coming in, then they became my payee, which was useful because I am, and always have been, terrible at managing money. If it wasn’t for them (ShelterCare), I would have no money.”

ShelterCare’s therapy program has worked wonders for Ronald, “Unlike other therapists, she’s (Linet, his therapist) actually been able to break through to me, which is usually difficult. It usually takes a long time,” he says.

Ronald lives in his own apartment with his cat, “Her name is Sweet Pea. She’s a tortoise shell,” he says. Recently, there have been some issues with people blocking the entrance to the complex and loitering, “They were hanging out there overnight and not letting tenants in,” Ronald describes, “I have social anxiety, I don’t like being around people and I know other people there (his apartment complex) have the same problems.”

It can be extremely difficult for someone experiencing a mental disability to handle situations like this, but with the encouragement of Ronald’s therapist Linet, and his skills trainer, Lizzy, he says he found success speaking up for himself and other tenants, “I eventually went and talked to someone who worked on-site about doing some things that would probably help. I was able to connect with her…just reaching out like that is a stretch for me because usually, I don’t even want to leave my apartment. Since that time, they put up a fence and we now have locked gates!”

Linet has worked at ShelterCare for a total of 33 years. She says she sticks around because of the unique experiences she has each day and the support of her coworkers, “my favorite parts of working at ShelterCare are that we work as a team, and support each other in the work; and that there is never a dull moment, there is always something new to learn, something new to experience.”

Ronald says he is thankful for what ShelterCare has done to help him, and many others, create a safe and stable life for themselves, “It (ShelterCare) has helped a lot of people. I think it would be good if the public knew more about what ShelterCare does for people who have been homeless and have mental issues to get them into housing, to get them off the streets, and to help them get on track.” Last year, ShelterCare helped over 1,800

individuals move forward on their journey toward housing stability and independence.

Like a true fan, Ronald says, in regards to his goal for the future, “Star Trek: Picard is out Wednesday, I’ll be watching that!”

You can make a difference in lives like Ronald’s. Support from a therapist like Linet has changed his life forever. Your donation will help us provide behavioral health services to more individuals and continue moving our program participants forward in personal growth. Will you support ShelterCare by making a donation today?

The Keystone program houses 15 of the most chronically homeless families, with kids, in Lane County. After years of homelessness, Krystal is part of one of these families. “I have loved being here at The Keystone,” Krystal says, “three years in a van was a long time to have such a little space and then a lot of space. It’s been a bumpy road, but I’m adjusting slowly.”

Krystal has two kids, “I have a 15 year old and an 11 year old. My son, who’s the 15-year-old, will eventually transition into living here with us. He lives with his best friend now,” she explains, “my daughter is still with her father, but hopefully moving forward, that will change. I couldn’t take care of myself, let alone them.”

Krystal is determined to become the best version of herself for her kids, “I’m trying to make it up now and prove to them, ‘I’ve got this, it’s okay.’”

Krystal has a long history with homelessness, “I have been homeless more often than I have not, my entire life,” she explains. Her most recent 3-year stint of homelessness began when she left her ex, “I came out of an 18 year abusive relationship with no credit, no rental history, no anything and without any of those things, no one’s giving you a chance. Thousands of dollars spent on application fees to just be told no. I worked a full-time job, most of that time, and still couldn’t afford to just survive. Rent is outrageously expensive here. It was every roadblock put in place just to have more.”

Krystal’s story is one of overcoming not only abuse and homelessness, but also managing mental illness, “I’m bipolar and had a complete mental breakdown and was reaching out for any kind of help. I happened to find somebody who said, “have you done a front door assessment?’” A front door assessment gathers information about a person including the barriers they face and characteristics that make them more vulnerable while homeless, to add them to the county managed Centralized Waitlist for getting into housing. Krystal said the process went quickly for her, “They did it that day. Next thing I know, I was getting a call from Lauryn.”

Lauryn is a Housing Specialist at ShelterCare’s Housing Services for Families program and spends most of her time at The Keystone. She explains that her favorite part of this job is seeing her client’s progress, “They come into this program, like Krystal, right off the streets. Watching them grow and be able to have a home and achieve things they never thought they could do is amazing.”

Lauryn is a big part of the network of support that ShelterCare program participants are provided with, “We always set up goals with them, when they move in, and we update them monthly,” she explains. 

Now that Krystal is in stable housing with a network of support, she talks about what her personal goals look like moving forward, “Prioritizing my time for the things I need to is my biggest goal right now. Focussing on my health and continuing to put one foot in front of the other.” Krystal says that the staff at ShelterCare are a big part of her success, “They have kept me on track more than once. Without them, I would not be here and I would not be as okay as I am.”

Krystal now has more time and space for her favorite hobby, “me and my fiancé rock hunt and hand process everything, make jewelry out of it, then give it away. It’s a family activity.” Krystal jokes, “Our house is probably more rock than anything!”

Despite her struggles, Krystal wants to make the world a better place for others, “Three years being homeless has humbled me in a way I didn’t realize could happen. I found the love of my life and got to realize there’s something bigger out there that I want to do – I want to help people. I want to make sure other people know that they aren’t alone.” She even plans to host a community dinner for the holidays in her new home, “I’m doing an open door Christmas!” she exclaimed excitedly, “if you don’t have somewhere to go, my door will be open.”

You can make a difference in lives like Krystal’s. Support from a Housing Specialist like Lauryn and a stable place to live has changed both her and her children’s lives forever. Your donation will help us house more families and individuals before the next holiday season and continue moving our program participants forward in personal growth. Will you make a donation today to support ShelterCare’s work of providing housing and support services to chronically homeless families?

Hearing your doctor say, “you have cancer,” is a nightmare for anyone. Now imagine facing that diagnosis without having a safe place to go home to, throughout treatment. That is what ShelterCare program participant, Rob, experienced, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began. “During COVID, there weren’t places to just go. It was the day before my birthday, in 2020, that I got diagnosed (with colon cancer) – I got surgery instead of cake that year. With the help of someone at Willamette Valley Cancer, I got into ShelterCare’s Medical Recuperation program – I didn’t even know it existed!” Rob explains.

ShelterCare Medical Recuperation (SMR) is a 19-bed facility that provides safe, emergency shelter for people who are experiencing homelessness and have recently been discharged from the hospital after an acute medical episode, yet still require limited care. Rob talked about his experience living there, “At SMR, every morning, staff is on the intercom asking how you’re doing. They would control my meds for me too.” One of his favorite parts was the food, “The guy who cooked over there, Boyd, he really tried for variety. We had trout one time! I took pictures of it!”

Rob described the treatment process he went through, “I had my first ostomy surgery the day after my diagnosis…then a couple of weeks went by and I started a combination of oral chemo and radiation. I did that for 6-8 weeks. Then there’s six weeks of recovery…you suddenly become an old doddering guy who uses a cane! Then it was time for infusion chemotherapy…I did that for four months.”

The long process meant that Rob couldn’t stay at SMR for all of it, “I was having surgery and I was in the ICU at McKenzie (McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center) when my stay in the SMR program terminated and I had to be over at the other place (ShelterCare Short Term Housing) now.” He explains what it meant to him that ShelterCare staff were able to make everything work in order to keep him housed throughout treatment, “I have no idea what I would’ve done had there not been ShelterCare programs. It was the perfect thing at the perfect time each time.”

The symptoms Rob experienced while going through cancer treatment meant he needed extra support, “I remember when I did chemotherapy at SMR, it was one of the weirdest things I ever did. I lived in my head a lot. A thought would just go out of my head like smoke and go poof. I had no idea what I had asked, if I’d even asked a question, or if I’d even had a thought. I tried really hard to keep my thoughts organized, but they just didn’t survive…so it was cool to have staff telling me I needed to get on housing waitlists.” SMR provides program participants like Rob with case management and resource navigation as well as everything they need to safely recover, such as three meals a day, medication monitoring, and transportation to appointments.

It’s hard to know what to expect when beginning cancer treatment. One thing Rob wasn’t expecting was having to experience addiction and withdrawal during the process, due to being prescribed OxyContin during treatment, “I was on Oxy. I was pretty sure I was addicted and I wanted to go through a (addiction) program, but not when I had four different machines attached to me.” Rob ended up tapering off the Oxy too fast triggering a withdrawal, “I had CAHOOTS in for a couple days in a row. The third day, the triage person at Riverstone (clinic) said I needed to go to the ER and get fluids. They put one bag in and it was still too low. They put another bag in and pow I came back! A few days later, I had my last Oxy!“

The whole experience was a wake up call for Rob, “I have discovered there’s a lot of meaningful reality to the phrase ‘medically fragile’,” he explained, “It’s like being new again and that’s freaking scary!”

Rob has won his battle against cancer and is now living in his own place, where he still has staff available to check in with him through his recovery, “They have a wellness check here – you have to hang it outside your door by 10:00 P.M. and if you don’t, they check on you. They also check on you in the morning.” He says his recovery is going well, “I just talked to the doctor this morning and asked if I’m cleared for the treadmill and he said yes!”

“I am on the 13th floor here – I looked out my window and saw a hawk fly right past one time! I have imposter syndrome here, “Really? This is for me??” Rob humbly explains, “I feel like I owe now because of these programs; I have to figure out a way to give back – a lot. I would’ve been not doing well in a cardboard box.”

“Now that I’ve moved in here, I’ve got at least a year to work on finding out what my new boundaries are and what I can do,” says Rob, pondering what’s next for him, “There aren’t going to be big wins all the time. You’re going to have to look at the small wins and acknowledge them.”

ShelterCare’s Medical Recuperation program provides the support that helps people like Rob safely recover from a variety of medical diagnoses, such as cancer.

“Having a program that seeks you out is so important because when you’re out there on the streets, there’s nothing — there’s no hope,” says ShelterCare Birch program participant Loren. “You don’t see people getting off the street, you just see more people getting added, so having someone seek you out really means a lot — it changes your outlook on hopelessness. Even though you can get that low, there’s someone who will find you.”

ShelterCare’s Birch program is a transitional shelter and case management program working to help divert people with serious mental health needs from jails and psychiatric hospitals and enable them to stabilize in the community. Birch clients have been found unable to aid and assist in their own legal defense and are referred to ShelterCare by the courts and Lane County Behavioral Health. Most Birch participants were unhoused prior to their stay in the Oregon State Hospital or jail. ShelterCare operates three homes within the Eugene metro. They house nine people, with pending court charges, at a time. Staff have offices within the homes and offer onsite support groups such as art and mindfulness. The Birch program has served 21 individuals in the last year.

Participation in the Birch program immensely decreases the individual’s utilization of local emergency services.

Loren explains how Birch helped him remain out of jail, “I worked my entire life and when I wasn’t working, I was on drugs, then I would jump right back into being employed, so I think it’s really special to be given a period of your life when you’re able to just reflect on where you’re at and what you’re doing…they are there to hear you and help you with personal forgiveness no matter what you’re doing. You really are slotted for success immediately.”

ShelterCare believes in the Housing First model, meaning that people must first become housed, then they are able to work on other personal goals without being in survival mode. “Before entering the (Birch) program, they put me in a soft release. Someone comes and meets you upon exiting jail and gives you a tent, sleeping bag, and cell phone. That happened two times, then the third time I was exiting jail, I met Josh, Brittany, and Risa. They took me right from jail into housing,” explains Loren. “I think a really good thing is that it’s not meant to force you into anything, but they are there to support you for as long as you need just to regain your sanity, and I think that’s really important in people’s lives like mine.”

Loren is a life-long Eugene native and musician. He reminisces on his time before becoming unhoused, saying “I used to make a lot of music! We made a bunch of albums and played a bunch of shows — hundreds of shows around town and we got to tour!”

He explains how drugs were the root of his homelessness, “Then I fell off the rocker and into drugs. I was homeless for about 2 ½ years. I was trying to make it out there, but everything collapsed. It was scary because people stopped being hospitable. I ran out of people to beg for money from. I did some heroin and got locked up.”

Loren says the support that the Birch program provided changed his life, “I went from having completely nothing and being a shot of heroin away from going to jail to having everything back.”

Now that Loren is in his own independent housing, works full time, and is clean and sober, he is thinking about what he wants for his future. “I’m starting to feel the age and the need for responsibility and to really start thinking about what I’m going to do with the rest of my life. What do I want to grow old doing? Where do I want to grow old? How am I going to pay for these things?” he ponders, “My goal is to get to a place where I’m really secure and proud of myself.”

Loren already has a lot to be proud of, “I give myself less credit than I deserve – I did really well and I’m impressed with myself.” In addition to remaining self-sufficient, Loren’s goals are around building connections “my goals are mostly around finding quality friendships – people who are supportive of me, understand what I’ve been through, and still stick around,” he says.

He was really excited to share about his new pet, “I’m going to get a kitten today, I’m super excited!” The kitten’s name is Moses.

Our Birch program provides the support that helps people like Loren become stably housed. Your donation supports programs like Birch and makes a difference in the lives of over 2,500 ShelterCare program participants each year. Will you support ShelterCare by making a donation today?