Marcy never imagined she would be homeless, stranded with her five children at a campsite outside Estacada.
At first her kids were excited by the “camping trip” but they soon tired of living in the cold, without running water. After a week at the campsite when their food supplies ran low, her husband went to town to find work. He never returned. Three days later with almost no food, no car, and no cell phone, Marcy packed up the kids and began the long walk back into town.
Marcy came to the Annie Ross House, NHA’s emergency shelter for homeless families. Here, her family had a safe, warm place to stay and Marcy began the tough work of starting over. With the help of her NHA Family Support Specialist, Marcy and her children were connected to the Oregon Health Plan so they could access health care, and the Oregon SNAP program for food assistance. Marcy’s children were enrolled in school and she was connected to many other social services to help her family stabilize.
Today, Marcy and her family are doing great. She has earned her GED – a lifelong goal that seemed unattainable in the past – and she is now attending community college. Marcy and her children moved from the Annie Ross House shelter to a nearby NHA transitional apartment, and finally into permanent affordable housing.
Marcy has a job, new confidence in her own abilities, and a bright outlook on the future. Her kids are healthy, doing well in school and see their mom as a role model. Marcy credits the Annie Ross House as the turning point in her life but we know that she’s done all the hard work.
