Helping end poverty is all in a day's work

from The Oregonian

GOSIA WOZNIACKA
The Oregonian

Jean DeMaster's typical day is ambitious.

In the morning, facilitate a meeting of metro-area agencies that serve low-income families and try to come up with a way to improve the overall service system.

In the afternoon, work on grant applications to fund building a multiservice center in Gresham's Rockwood neighborhood.


And in the evening, attend a Gresham city meeting to discuss affordable housing and advocate for people who may become homeless if problem housing is torn down or sold.

The organization DeMaster heads provides anti-poverty and homelessness-prevention programs in east Multnomah County, including emergency shelter, clothing and food, transitional and affordable housing, rent and utility assistance, employment training and placement, and ESL and computer classes.

In the recently concluded fiscal year, Human Solutions served about 91,000 east county residents, a 39 percent increase from the previous year. Most of the families are the working poor, DeMaster said, and many are single parents struggling to make ends meet on minimum wage. Some are recent immigrants -- and Human Solutions employs staff who speak a variety of languages.

The trends are not encouraging -- a homeless count in May found that more children and families are now homeless in east county.

"We are seeing more homelessness and more families in desperate situations," DeMaster said. "We're also seeing more people doubled up (in apartments) with other people. That's putting a lot of pressure on families and putting children at risk due to overcrowding."

Another sign is the rising number of people unable to pay their energy bills, even during the summer, DeMaster said. She worries children may be eating spoiled food because their parents' refrigerators are turned off or may lack air conditioning during hot days.

DeMaster has a long history of serving homeless and low-income folks: Before coming to Human Solutions in 2002, she served as executive director of Portland's YWCA and even had a women's shelter -- Jean's Place -- named after her. She worked for Transitions, a project for single men and women.

The draw to Human Solutions: She can help people gain self-sufficiency and build something more permanent.

"There needs to be more-permanent affordable housing," she said, "otherwise we won't solve the homelessness problem."