Shelter living has separated Celeste from her partner, but she's optimistic they'll have a home together again
There are some people who have a gift of drawing out the kindness in others. Celeste Elizabeth Blair has that gift. Maybe it’s because of her gentle manner. Or her shy smile and her twinkly eyes. Maybe it’s because of the careful way she listens before she speaks. The stories she tells about her life are threaded with the kindness of others, often completed by her saying, “People are so good.”
Celeste left Fort Worth, Texas, a few short years ago.
“Too hot. Too much family. Too conservative,” she said.
She had reconnected with an old friend, Matthew, who had moved away from Texas. He encouraged her to join him in Portland.
“It all happened so fast,” she said. “When we got to talking about my coming to Portland, it felt like it was already a done deal. We were looking to remember the past when we realized we had a future together.”
So Celeste flew out to Portland and joined Matthew. They got an apartment. They got a dog, “a really cute Jack Russell Terrier named Callie.” And, as Celeste explained, “everything was good.”
But soon enough, there were troubles. They lost their apartment. They lost their dog. Though their relationship was still strong, Celeste and Matthew had to find separate housing, Matthew in an SRO (single room occupancy) facility in downtown Portland and Celeste in the Gresham Women’s Shelter in the southeast.
Celeste found Street Roots’ Rose City Resource guide valuable in finding shelter.
“I held onto it for a long time,” she said. “It got me around.”
Celeste describes life at the Gresham Women’s Shelter in favorable terms.
“It’s kind of like being away at camp,” she said. “Each room has a name, like Harmony, Strength, Joy, and each room has certain responsibilities, like cleaning the kitchen.” Things are clearly structured, she explained. The shelter provides three meals a day. And “it’s good food,” she said.
But one major difficulty of living in the shelter is the forced separation from Matthew.
“It’s hard on our relationship,” she said. “I can’t imagine what we would have if we weren’t going through this.”
And then, there was that twinkle in her eyes as she smiled and said, “Eventually we’re going to have a place to live together.”
Once, about a year ago, in the midst of the turmoil and disruption in her life, Celeste thought it would be best to move back to Fort Worth. She traveled for three days on a Greyhound bus, worrying every mile about the decision she’d made.
“I started realizing what I was doing,” she said. “It didn’t feel right. I felt like I was coming out of a bad dream.”
So she hopped off the bus at a truck stop in El Paso, Texas, and started hitchhiking back to Portland.
“It was crazy,” she said. “I wasn’t scared at all. I knew I was doing the right thing.”
Her first ride took her to New Mexico. Another through Arizona. The next one through Nevada. Each ride a safe ride. In California, she got a ride with a man who bought her a meal and an Amtrak ticket to Portland. “People are so good,” she said.
Back in Portland, Celeste began working at Street Roots. She sells at Lovejoy Bakers, on the corner of Northwest 10th Avenue and Lovejoy Street. She likes her work. She likes the people.
“Those who know about Street Roots are really kind,” she said. “I like to talk to them. They’re so excited about Street Roots. It makes me feel proud.”
Next time you’re in Northwest Portland, drop by Lovejoy Bakers and say hello to Celeste. Ask her about the Texas heat or how to withstand a three-day bus ride south. Ask her about the kindness of strangers. You’ll be rewarded with her twinkly smile and that great feeling of kindness she draws out in all of us.
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