An eviction is forcing Lee onto the streets, but she’s optimistic that she’ll find housing
It’s sweet to imagine Lee Vaughn’s home, a West Shore apartment in downtown Portland where she has lived for the past two years. “My place is so beautiful,” she said, “like a jungle,” with a variety of plants: a Meyer Lemon tree, spider plants, philodendrons and many more. “I have a green thumb.”
She lives with her parakeet, a green-cheeked conure named Charlie, and her 9-year-old Pomeranian, Natasha. Natasha goes everywhere Lee goes, whether Lee is selling Street Roots at her post near Voodoo Doughnut in Old Town or working her shift at Street Roots.
A dispute with a landlord over Natasha resulted in Lee’s eviction. “Natasha only has three legs,” Lee explained, “and she’s not used to being leashed. She’s always in my lap in the wheelchair.”
Lee is now going through the process of selling her plants. Even with her Social Security and disability checks combined, she can’t afford the transition to a new apartment. So, she’ll live on the street in January.
“You can’t take plants on the street,” she said. Her friend will take her bird, Charlie, and she’s using the money she makes on her sales to buy a tent, a cot, a sleeping bag and a heater to weather the challenges of street life.
She plans to set up camp near Street Roots, a neighborhood where she feels relatively safe. She has experienced life on the streets in the past, and she has survived being raped and beaten, she said.
“This time, I’ll have a switchblade to protect me,” she said. “I’ll be prepared this time.”
Lee said she inherited her strength and independence from her mother, “One of the strongest women I’ve ever known.”
Lee has been in an electric wheelchair for the past 10 years after sustaining back injuries at her job, working as a caregiver for an in-home care service. A 400-pound client fell on top of her while she was trying to assist him in moving. She suffers seizures, “brought on by all the trauma of my past,” so she depends on Natasha, her 5-pound Pomeranian, to alert her of the seizure’s onset. “Natasha licks my face about five minutes before I’m gonna have a seizure. I know then to lay down so that I won’t fall out.”
Faced with the challenges of constant pain related to her injuries, as well as the challenges of COVID-19, Lee said, “I stay to myself, I stay strong, and I stay healthy.” Now, with the challenge of life back on the street, Lee said, “My solution is to work my way through it.”
A friend introduced Lee to Street Roots three months ago when she was looking for part-time work. She works in the Street Roots office every Wednesday.
It’s a job that keeps her very busy. On Wednesdays, the line of vendors picking up papers to sell goes around the block. She keeps the coffee brewing and distributes sanitation supplies, gloves, hats and hand warmers. “I absolutely love working with the Street Roots staff and the vendors,” Lee said. “It’s very rewarding work.”
And though she also loves selling Street Roots, she hasn’t been too lucky with sales. Her post in front of Voodoo is fairly vacant during these days of the pandemic shutdown. But this work is also rewarding, Lee said. “The people are so nice, and they respect the fact that I’m working,” she said.
Lee tries to keep a six-days-a-week schedule, selling papers from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of Voodoo Doughnut, at 22 SW Third Ave.
She said she feels safe with her friends, especially those she’s met through Street Roots. And she is hopeful about her future, optimistic that she’ll find housing.
Street Roots is an award-winning, weekly publication focusing on economic, environmental and social justice issues. The newspaper is sold in Portland, Oregon, by people experiencing homelessness and/or extreme poverty as means of earning an income with dignity. Street Roots newspaper operates independently of Street Roots advocacy and is a part of the Street Roots organization. Learn more about Street Roots. Support your community newspaper by making a one-time or recurring gift today.
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