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| Veteran homeless advocate DeMaster, Human Solutions serve Mid-county LEE PERLMAN THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
DeMaster has served as director of Transition Projects, whose services include an Old Town shelter for single men, and the YWCA, which provides a downtown shelter for women. She has also served on the Portland Planning Commission. An inner east side women’s shelter, Jean’s Place, was named for her. Last year the National Alliance for Children and Families gave her its Advocacy Award as a sort of lifetime achievement recognition. For the last three and a half years she has served as executive director of Human Solutions, which serves east Portland and Mid-Multnomah County. The organization provides emergency services for homeless families and referrals to other resources, training to help bread winners secure jobs and upgrade to better-paying jobs, and rent assistance vouchers. It is all desperately needed. Since beginning service at Human Solutions, “I’ve seen a much higher level of poverty than I’ve ever seen before,” DeMaster told the Memo. “Consider that 48 percent of the people who are homeless on a given night are homeless families, and most of them are east of 82nd Avenue. As housing prices have increased in the inner city, poor families have migrated eastward, and then become homeless here. There are eight shelters in the city serving families, and all but two are in the mid and eastern parts of Multnomah County. “In the course of a month, 200 to 400 families that are facing eviction come looking for help, and we have 60 vouchers to give them. There are families sleeping outdoors now. There are families living in a 900 square foot house with no heat or light. They don’t receive as much attention as homeless men because they don’t pose a threat to anyone. They’re not as visible, and if they were, they’d risk having their kids taken away. “It takes a heavy toll on the kids, and the school districts, and on the health care system.” There will be an opportunity to learn more about the problem on May 4. Human Solutions is sponsoring a spaghetti dinner at St. Phillip Neri Catholic Church, 2408 S.E. 16th Ave., to honor and call attention to a network of 23 churches that provide aide to homeless families. Contributions will be accepted but not required. For more information or to purchase tickets to the dinner, call 503-548-0200, or visit the Human Solutions Web site at: www.humansolutions.org. |
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