Marsha
Emilie House, Portland
Marsha grew up very poor in a broken home in Chico, California. At 17 she met someone she thought would change her life, and at 19 she got pregnant. They moved to Eugene and she gave birth to her daughter, who she ended up raising on her own. As a single mom she was not able to save any money. She could afford to pay for rent, minimal clothing and food.
Marsha moved to Happy Valley and purchased a mobile home, and life was going well until she got ill. She found out she had diabetes, among many other health issues, and between the rental space for her mobile home, utilities, and hospital bills she couldn’t afford to pay for everything from just her social security.
She moved in with her daughter and her husband, while she was waiting for senior housing to become available, which she was told was a 3 year wait. “It was a rough 3 years. It’s not a position I would want anyone to be in. I felt completely powerless over myself and my fate.”
When Marsha finally got the call that there was an apartment available for her at Emilie House, she felt relief because the, “building is so wonderful and it is safe.”
Next Marsha needed to find furniture to transform her new apartment into her home. She recalls, “I had nothing. When I gave up my home, I took some pictures and gave up everything else. I didn’t have a bed, a couch, a kitchen table, nor enough money to buy it.” She found many second hand items online and got a dresser for free and a kitchen table and chairs from a friend.
Close to tears, Marsha says, “I grew up poor and for most of my life I struggled to have enough, and guess what? I finally have enough. If it weren’t for Providence, I don’t know what I would be doing.”
When asked how she would describe her home, Marsha simply says, “belonging.”
Thank you for donating to Providence Supportive Housing's Hope After Homelessness Campaign and helping people like Marsha.
