Breathlessly, Elizabeth Bodenstab shared her big news: she is on the cusp of becoming housed. She was careful with her words, almost believing that if she said them out loud, they might vanish, along with the hopes of becoming housed. Elizabeth’s disbelief is understandable. After 22 years of being housing insecure, she finally saw a path toward housing. Elizabeth’s story is as unique as it is common and is one of heartache, healing, housing and hope.
Elizabeth has been singularly focused on becoming housed. That determination had her attempt to refuse medical care after suffering a seizure in front of the Street Roots office because she was concerned she would miss a housing appointment. Street Roots Program Director DeVon Pouncey stepped in, and while Elizabeth is quick to give credit to DeVon for helping her find housing, she deserves much of the credit herself — her tenacity set her on a path to completing the multiple steps to secure her new apartment and receive her keys in mid-May.
Elizabeth said taking care of her health has been challenging.
“I have been dealing with a lot of health issues because of living outside,” Elizabeth said. “Many of my health issues are stress-related from not having housing. I’ve been through a lot.”
Just a day after the interview for this profile, Elizabeth received the news she had been hoping for: her housing application had been accepted and she could pick up her keys to her apartment in a few days.
She called with the news, this time her voice brimming with excitement, confidence and optimism. Elizabeth’s new home is at Cedar Commons, which she likes because of the location well outside of Portland’s city core.
“Having housing will mean being able to come and go as I please. It will be a blessing to have a roof over my head, and I’ll be better able to take care of my health issues,” she said. “Dealing with health issues and living on the streets is not very good for me. I’ve been missing appointments like crazy.”
The mother of three, Elizabeth has two daughters in Oregon, and a son who moved out of state for work.
Her youngest daughter was adopted into a loving family in Eugene when she was a newborn. Now 12, her daughter is a talented student. With stable housing, she hopes to re-establish the connection with her daughter. Elizabeth is very grateful for her daughter’s parents, who she said treat their daughter really well.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better set of adoptive parents,” she said. “And not a day goes by that I don’t think about her. I think about her all the time. I want her to stay on the right path and go to college and do something with her life. She has a good set of parents. I want the best for my kids. And I want to set an example for my kids.”
Elizabeth’s gratitude extends to her connection with Street Roots.
“If it wasn’t for Street Roots, I wouldn’t be getting my housing,” she said. “I love Street Roots.”
When asked what advice she has for others, she did not hesitate in her reply.
“Come to Street Roots,” she said. “They’ll help. Because they helped me. DeVon is really awesome. He’s been working his magic.”
Elizabeth is currently focusing on her health and settling into her new home, but is already planning ahead to establish a spot to sell Street Roots near her new apartment in the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood in SE Portland. In the meantime, readers can support Elizabeth through @StreetRoots Venmo by entering her name and badge number (680) in the notes.
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