Genny Nelson, co-founder of Sisters of the Road Cafe, was an indomidable force of human nature in Portland’s political and social environment. Her life’s work in gentle personalism and nonviolence launched a sea change in how our community, and many others that followed her example, approached some of the most challenging issues of our time, most notably poverty and homelessness.
She was also a powerful advocate for the rights of people experiencing homelessness and poverty, working side by side with people who were homeless to constantly push for better ideas and meaningful actions from the halls of power.
“We believe if you want to solve homelessness, do more than satiate the immediate, urgent needs of homeless people,” Nelson told Street Roots when she retired as Sisters executive director in 2009 at age 58. “Build community and share power with them; create systems that teach self-reliance instead of dependence; and remember, until men and women experiencing the calamities of homelessness and poverty are full participants at the table where public policy on homelessness is being decided, we will never resolve it.”
Nelson died Aug. 19. The organization she founded with Sandy Gooch in 1979 recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, and her philosophy lives on in its work to create systemic change by listening to people and building authentic relationships. She once referred to Sisters as “always a work in progress, a daily experiment in truth.”
SISTERS OF THE ROAD: 40 years of home cooking and hospitality
She received many honors for her work, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Portland. In 2005, Nelson was awarded the National Caring Award and was inducted into the National Hall of Fame for Caring Americans.
Nelson’s work and character touched people in all walks of life. Upon news of her death, Street Roots reached out to some of the people who worked with her over the years to hear their memories. Here is what they had to say:
Lisa Hawash,
Former Sisters development manager
Genny taught me that learning our history in the Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood was vital to understanding the role and place we had in the community along with the responsibility to create a hospitable space in the cafe for folks who were trying to survive outside.
Genny was known for her copious notes. When we were having hard discussions, she would draw on our history, she would remind us to center the experiences and voices of folks living outside in our decisions and our actions. She grounded us in this idea that all people are deserving of community, of good food that is affordable, and that all are deserving of love, dignity and hospitality. She wasn’t perfect; she was not infallible even though some think she was. She was humble, she was direct, and she moved through her life teaching and mentoring others with purpose. I became a better social worker because of our connection and for that I am forever grateful.
Michael Buonocore,
Executive director of Home Forward
In 2007, I was a little bit broken. I had burned myself out professionally and felt disconnected from the passion that had driven me to do work in service of others. Then, Sisters of the Road hired me as their associate director, and I felt whole again, immediately.
Genny Nelson was in her final stretch of work at Sisters before retirement at that time, and I had the privilege to learn from her, to become her friend. Some lessons came directly from Genny — we are not our worst mistakes; when people have been punished in the justice system, we shouldn’t keep punishing them when they get out — and other lessons of hers had been infused deeply in the culture of the agency, like the importance of building authentic relationships with people living on the streets.
Most importantly, I came to fully understand that affordable housing is the systemic solution to homelessness, and that we can solve it as a country when we finally decide it’s important enough. Because of the organization that Genny co-founded and, more importantly, because of who she was, I carry that conviction with me in my work every day.
I think one of the greatest contributions a person can make is to light a fire in others that fuels them to carry on in the struggle with a sense of compassion and hope. Genny lit thousands of those candles in this city, including in me.
Thank you for your gift, Genny. I love you.
Israel Bayer,
Former executive director of Street Roots
Genny Nelson’s legacy has always been bigger than life in both Old Town and throughout Portland, helping shape the fabric of the people and city she loved. Genny dedicated her life to supporting the poor and fighting for the rights of people on the streets.
Genny touched so many people’s life, steadfast in her belief that the only way to combat the violence of poverty was through non-violence and love. Genny’s spirit and advocacy lives on in so many people that continue to do the work today.
ISRAEL BAYER: Leadership means helping others lead, too (from 2017)
Monica Beemer,
Sister’s director, 2001-13
Genny said, “HOW we do what we did is more important than WHAT we do,” though the most important thing is to listen to Sisters’ customers and do what is most needed based in that input. The impact on each of us touched by close contact with Genny and Sisters was and still is profound, making each of us better people. The impact on our neighborhood and city cannot be overstated as well. Sisters was a north star for building authentic relationships, standing up for each other’s rights, listening and learning, and being accountable when you need to. We are all changed for the better because of Genny’s life and legacy. It was an honor to get to work beside her. Thank you, Genny.
Bobby Weinstock,
NW Pilot Project
Her loving heart, kind spirit and fierce determination are all embodied in her creation of Sisters of the Road Cafe. Her presence was always a gentle reminder to treat each other with respect and compassion. May her memory continue to inspire us to love one another.
Mary Hegel,
Sisters volunteer
Although an introvert at heart, Genny’s passionate pursuit of nonviolent community organizing as a model for social change regularly put her in the spotlight. There are countless stories of how she helped change lives and world views. I believe Genny’s charisma was made up of equal parts of her vulnerability and her compassion. She mentored so many of us by constantly holding herself accountable to her own ideals. She would regularly quote Gandhi, saying that every day at Sisters of the Road was “an experiment in truth.” And she would remind us that “nobody has a monopoly on the truth.” That was including herself.
The whole café was based on the practice of being able to listen to one another. In my first one-on-one meeting with Genny, she took me off guard. I was a full-time volunteer that had just begun working in the café on my own path of wanting to enact social change. I was drawn to Sisters’ community and philosophies, which are steeped in a rich history of nonviolent activism. And I held Genny on a pretty high pedestal.
We had had a staff meeting where she had misrepresented some information about me. After discovering what she had done, she pulled me to the side to have a one-one-one conversation and very adamantly told me to hold her accountable. I thought, ‘Me, a volunteer, call out the founder of the organization!?’ Really, I had no question after that day because of her sincerity. It was one of a number of small interactions that led to a big shift in thinking.
As we memorialize the great woman she was and the amazing influence she had on helping to change hearts and minds, lives and communities, we should remember Genny never wanted people to look at her as a saint. To begin with, she was painfully aware of what she considered her own flaws and mistakes. She made sacrifices, as most people do whose lives are committed to a cause. Also, she wanted to share this vulnerability, because all of us, no matter what our flaws or mistakes, have the same capacity to commit to making a change in our lives and to listening to others. My hope is that we can honor her legacy by remembering that, in addition to staying true to your ideals, the radical, go-to-the-root change she stood for was about small beginnings, deep listening and a willingness to fall on your own sword.
Erik Sten,
Former Portland city commissioner
Genny was the best of us, a hero and mentor to me. Whenever I lost track of what was important, all I had to do was stop by Sisters, join a common table and see what was possible when we live the right way. Most of the government’s response to homelessness focuses on shelter, housing and physical needs. That work is needed, of course, but Genny taught me that at its core, homelessness is a failing of our souls — a severing of the human connection between society and the person on the street. Every day she restored that connection, and in doing so healed all of us. Her work was transformative in both its simplicity and its unwavering focus. To honor her I hope we can come out of our current crisis with a renewed commitment to each other.
Pepe Espinoza,
Sisters’ Roadies coordinator
To talk about Genny Nelson is to talk about systemic change, because the very moment she directly asked a group of people already living in isolation, segregated by "society" and excluded by government, what would be good to have covered in their everyday needs, she demonstrated what true community organizing means. It is to alleviate isolation (of all kinds) by creating alternatives, while deconstructing self-oppressive systems. Sisters of the Road is an example of systemic change. This is reflected in Sisters’ barter work program, practice in creating authentic relationships, nourishing food for all, and nonviolent practices. Genny Nelson is an inspiration for all of us who she crossed paths with. We all have a ray of her sunshine walking with us and lighting our next step. She belongs in every heart she touched.
Betsy Glickman,
Sisters’ associate director
Love. Is the strongest word that I had ever heard as a child, and I never understood the full meaning of until I became an adult. Love, to me, is something that is tangible. It is a feeling that can be so hard and also deeply rewarding. Genny Nelson loved deeply, truly and without judgment. Genny could walk into a room and you could feel her love anywhere in that room, and after she left, it lingered. It was tangible. Her legacy is rooted in love.
One of the beliefs that Sisters started with is that love is free and should be given out as such. That all people deserve to feel loved. Food is a love language that resonates across race, class, language, gender, sexuality, religious views and trauma. Access to nourishing food, prepared with love, served with love, in a space that is loving, is a gift that Genny gave to an uncountable number of people. People who typically don’t feel as though they count.
The loss of Genny is something that I personally will feel for the rest of my life, but the legacy that has been left inspires my passion to continue to help lead in an organization that is rooted in love. Genny embarrassed me in one of our last in-person meetings and told me, a phrase that she had said to me so many times over the years of knowing her: “Always risk loving someone. They are worth it, and so are you.”
Susan Emmons,
Former executive director of NW Pilot Project
Genny was an exceptional person with an unwavering commitment to social justice. I remember being with her at community meetings. She would listen intently, and often be very quiet, but when she did speak, she was so authentic that she commanded the respect of everyone in the room. She was gentle, persistent, and a person of great integrity, always determined that we “do the right thing” for those who were most vulnerable. I don't think she ever met a stranger. For Genny, the impossible was just hard work.