| “I wanted to change my life for the better and I’m proud of myself,” said Harley. Harley, a 32-year-old wife, mother, and student, has come a long way in the last five years. Harley grew up oscillating between being housed and unhoused, and in 2016 found herself addicted to drugs and staying in a homeless shelter in Portland. Everything started to change when Harley met her now-husband and became pregnant with their son. Harley knew she and her husband would have to be sober and housed to keep her son safe and healthy, so they decided to get into treatment. “My son saved my life,” she said. Today, Harley’s family is settled in a Southwest Portland apartment managed by Home Forward, an affordable housing provider. However, the pandemic made it difficult to put food on the table. Harley turned to Facebook for information on food resources and found the Neighborhood House Food Pantry. The Food Pantry became Harley’s lifeline. Receiving two boxes per month of fresh food she ordered herself helped Harley to fill gaps in her family’s food stamp benefits and dull the anxiety of worrying about their next meal. “[The Neighborhood House Food Pantry] is one of the most well-run pantries in Portland,” Harley said. “Freshness and being able to get food you’ll actually eat is huge.” She is excited to visit the pantry in person after receiving only deliveries due to COVID. Neighborhood House’s shopping-style pantry allows clients to select food that they and their families are excited to eat, so nothing goes to waste. With food on the table, Harley is able to focus on going back to school. She is starting at Portland Community College this winter and hopes to become a drug and alcohol counselor. No one should have to make the impossible decision between food and other necessities. Will you help combat food insecurity in Portland by supporting Neighborhood House this year? |
I started using the Free Food Market. I learned about more programs that could help us. But the biggest change wasn’t the services themselves.
It was how I was treated.
For the first time in my entire life, I was met with dignity.
I wasn’t talked down to. I wasn’t made to feel ashamed for needing help. I wasn’t forced to “prove” I deserved to survive. At Neighborhood House, people spoke to me with genuine respect, something I have so often not been given, simply due to my circumstances. That changed everything. Even now, it still brings tears to my eyes.
When you’re disabled, when you’re parenting alone, when you’re just trying to get through the day without falling apart…asking for help is hard. Being treated with kindness backed by action? It’s life-changing.
That kindness empowered me.
I joined the Head Start Policy Council.
I became involved in statewide advocacy work.
And eventually, when someone asked if I would consider joining the Neighborhood House Board, I said yes.
Being on the board fills a need I’ve carried my whole life: the deep need to give back. There is so little any one person can do alone. But when we connect, when we come together as a community, everything becomes possible.
People sometimes ask me why services like Neighborhood House still matter.
My answer is simple:
Because income inequality is growing.
Because our systems do not prioritize people in poverty.
Because without places like Neighborhood House, people really would go hungry. Children would go without resources necessary to thrive. Housing insecure families would be turned out into the streets.
And that is simply not acceptable.
Until we change the systems that create these conditions in the first place, we need community-based organizations that keep people alive, keep families housed, and treat every neighbor with dignity.
And there’s one more thing I want you to know:
No one chooses this.
Everyone is doing the best they can.
Sometimes people just need a little boost.
When you donate or volunteer at Neighborhood House, it is truly life changing. You may never meet every person you help—but please know there are so many of us who feel overwhelmed with gratitude because these services exist.
I am one of them.
So today, as we close out the year, I’m asking you to help more neighbors like me.
Here’s how you can help right now:
- Make a gift today — your support goes directly to families who need it most.
- Start a food drive — our Food Security Program is a lifeline and always needs support.
- Share my letter with a friend who believes in a more just and caring community.
Thank you for believing in this work.
Thank you for believing in people like me.
With gratitude,
Love
Board Member & Program Participant
Neighborhood House
