I don’t know the Blanchet House people yet, but have been learning about their work. Check out their portrait prints for sale. It seems like a vital organization in Portland.
If you're having trouble viewing this email, you can see it online.
We need help to refill and stock our shelves with canned fruits for the days we don't get fresh fruit donated. We’re asking for any size can of UNEXPIRED fruit. #10 cans are ideal but we’ll take ‘em all!
If you can donate please drop off Mon-Sat, 8-10:30 a.m. or 1:30-4 p.m., at 310 NW Glisan. You can also mail canned fruit to us. Thank you!
M has untreated schizophrenia and lives on the sidewalk. We've gotten to know her as a meal guest at our cafe. Some days she can't get up so we bring her food, water, coffee, clean clothes, blankets, tarps, and bath wipes. Whatever we can to ease her suffering. She's declining in mental and physical health and is vulnerable to abuse.
After months of calling every local and state service provider or agency our staff can think of to help her off the street, we finally got her to accept a ride to a hospital. A few days later, we found her lying behind a dumpster baking in the hot sun. She had been discharged from the hospital and brought back to the only home she knows. By law, she doesn’t qualify as "a danger to herself or others" so a 14-day hold was denied. Now she's back on the sidewalk, speaking in the third person, and with a prescription she believes is for someone else. The situation brought our staff to tears. We do not have the facilities to care for people with acute mental illness.
M needs permanent housing with 24-hour care from medical professionals. But M has to have the ability to accept help that she is fearful of. We need to have a frank and difficult conversation about standards for holding people for critical treatment, what it really means to be “a danger to oneself,” and what trauma-informed, humane care looks like for people with severe mental illnesses.
Watching people slowly decline on our sidewalks is not acceptable or humane.
You can purchase beautiful art that makes a positive impact for only $50. Blanchet House's On the Ledge art show features work from local artists that benefit our programs and the artist. You have until August 31 to grab one of these great pieces. This is a great way to purchase art while supporting people experiencing hunger, addiction, and poverty.
Featured art is "How Bridges Be Looking in PDX" by Preston Gravitt.
“It’s the most significant thing I’ve accomplished in 12 years. Now I can fill out a job application without lying about graduating,” Trace says.
As a resident of Blanchet House in downtown Portland, Trace is working hard to turn his life around in a positive direction. We’re glad he’s part of our community and that we can celebrate his success.
Your generous support gives individuals like Trace a second chance.
