I call Portland my best of times, my worst of times,” said Loretta H.
Loretta and her husband, Andy, recently lost their jobs as co-managers at a local apartment complex. Loretta said she spoke up about rent and repair issues for tenants and was fired. As a result, they also lost the housing that came with the job.
“I was really pushing, and I just didn’t want to work there,” Loretta said. “I had been talking to Andy for months about it. The timing was unfortunate.”
She recalled the famous quote: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Loretta said she and Andy will have separate jobs in the future: “Next time, let’s not put all our eggs in one basket, and Andy agreed. Being co-managers where both our jobs are tied into our housing – it’s not a good scenario.”
For the moment, Loretta, Andy and their two cats are staying at nearby rest stops. They’re preparing to travel to Southern California and connect with family and friends.
In the past, Andy was an engineer, and Loretta, a nurse by training, raised the kids. When Andy got sick, they spent much of their savings on alternative treatments.
“We just spent a few days on the coast, which was cooler, right?” she said. “So we stayed at some rest stops there. There are a lot of people that are doing this, and they don’t necessarily show up in the statistics. So I think that the homeless are an even bigger situation than we even realize.”
Loretta also said health care is a big worry. Andy has health issues and received good health care in Oregon. They don’t know if they’ll find the same care in California, even though that’s where their family support system lies.
“I would really like to talk to the president about that,” Loretta said. “This is a big, big deal. We should have health care like other nations. We should have health care that you can transfer over a state line.”
Loretta said this has also been the best of times when she reflects on the kindness she has experienced in Portland.
“It’s really the first time that I’ve been on the receiving end,” she said. “In the past, we had a food pantry at one of our churches, and I was involved in that. So to be on the receiving end is humbling.
Loretta found clothes and other services at Rose Haven, a nonprofit that provides support to women experiencing loss of home, abuse or other life challenges.
At Street Roots, Loretta said, she found “a lifeline and a love-line.”
“Street Roots was the ray of hope for us,” she said. “The kindness that I see, watching how Cole and the others handle the office – just so compassionate and yet not wanting people to stay in their mess either. I definitely saw the same with Rose Haven.”
While Loretta has a lot on her plate, she still finds ways to pass on that kindness.
FURTHER READING: Loretta's life of compassion
She said she gives “compliments from the heart. Every day, I always try to say something to make someone feel good. So I usually try to find the ones who look like they could use a word of encouragement.”
Uprooting from Portland has been hard, but Loretta is looking forward to reconnecting with family in California and attending her 40th high school reunion near Los Angeles, where an old classmate, Kevin Spacey, might make an appearance.
“A sermon I heard long ago went: ‘If you’re going through hell, keep walking!” Loretta said with a big laugh.