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‘Swept Away’: A Series of ProPublica Articles Highlight a Pressing Challenge for Rose Haven Guests

Last fall, on a mission to investigate campsite removals, or “sweeps” around the country, reporters from ProPublica came to Rose Haven and interviewed our guests on the impact of sweeps on their day to day lives. They published a series of articles describing how sweeps create a cycle of hardship for our neighbors who are living unsheltered. These ProPublica articles demonstrate the harms of sweeps that Rose Haven staff and volunteers hear about everyday from our guests.

Sweeps often take survival items that keep our guests warm and dry, and increase the burden on organizations like Rose Haven that supply those items. There have also been reports of sweeps destroying irreplaceable sentimental items which for many people feed important parts of their identities, allow relief from life’s hardships, and help them connect with others. Additionally, sweeps make it incredibly difficult for people experiencing homelessness to work towards finding housing, employment, mental health, and other resources. 

To learn more about how sweeps impact people experiencing homelessness around the country check out the ProPublica articles linked below.

Swept Away: When Cities Take Belongings From Vulnerable Residents

In this article, ProPublica uplifts interviews on sweeps carried out across the country, several of which were with our guests. “Over and over, they told ProPublica that having possessions taken traumatizes them, exacerbates health issues and undermines efforts to find housing and get or keep a job.”

 

“I Have Lost Everything”: The Toll of Cities Homeless Sweeps

This article shares examples of what people have lost from campsite removals including important documents, survival gear, and irreplaceable sentimental items. The article shares responses from interviewees who were given notecards to write about things that were lost during sweeps.

 

Cities Say They Store Property Taken From Homeless Encampments. People Rarely Get Their Things Back

Portland, Oregon, distributes cards to people whose belongings are stored after encampment removals. Stephenie, who is homeless, received a similar card after her belongings were taken. Credit: ProPublica, Photo provided by Portland officials

While many cities store items that were taken in sweeps, the process for what to save and what to discard is not standardized. Even when items are stored, there are barriers to retrieving them. “In Portland, which stores the most among the cities ProPublica reviewed, property was reclaimed 4% of the time during a recent 12-month period.”

 

U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Will Allow More Aggressive Homeless Encampment Removals

This article discusses the recent Grants Pass camping ban that went to the Supreme Court last summer. “The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to give cities broader latitude to punish people for sleeping in public when they have no other options will likely result in municipalities taking more aggressive action to remove encampments, including throwing away more of homeless people’s property, advocates and legal experts said.”

 

Albuquerque Is Throwing Out the Belongings of Homeless People, Violating City Policy

One of two articles covering Albuquerque, New Mexico’s campsite removals: “The city has violated a court order and its own policies by discarding the personal property of thousands of homeless people, who have lost medications, birth certificates, IDs, treasured family photos and the ashes of loved ones.”

 

Judge Lifts Order That Mandated Albuquerque Stop Throwing Away Homeless People’s Belongings

A second article on how Albuquerque, New Mexico is handling campsite removals: “A district judge stood by his previous finding that the city has seized and destroyed personal property during its homeless encampment removals but said a pending Supreme Court ruling could make his order ‘unworkable.’”

 

What I Learned Reporting in Cities That Take Belongings From Homeless People

Here, a reporter from ProPublica shares her takeaways from reporting on campsite removals. “Our reporting shows there are more effective and compassionate ways for cities to deal with these issues.”

 

Want to Report on Homelessness? Here’s What Our Sources Taught Us About Engaging Responsibly

A team of ProPublica journalists reported in 11 cities to connect with people who experienced homeless encampment sweeps. News applications developer Ruth Talbot visited Rose Haven, a day shelter and community center in Portland, Oregon. Credit: Asia Fields/ProPublica

When ProPublica reporters visited Rose Haven to interview our guests, we shared advice on trauma informed interviewing strategies for those who have experienced homelessness. 

“To navigate those and ensure our reporting was as responsible as possible, we turned to the experts: people who experienced homelessness, service providers and key community members… During interviews, many of our sources described sweeps as traumatic, and some mentioned other traumatic experiences they had been through.” 

 

Have You Experienced Homelessness? Do You Work With People Who Have? Connect With Our Reporters

Learn how to get in touch with reporters from ProPublica to share your story. 

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Houseless Day of Rememberance

On Saturday, December 21st, we gathered together at Ground Score Association on the longest, darkest day of the year to pay tribute to the loved ones we have lost this year while or after experiencing homelessness. In Multnomah County alone, we lost at least 496 people in 2023—the highest number of deaths in this community since the county began publishing the annual “Domicile Unknown” reports. 

Every day, we continue to honor the friends, family, and neighbors we have lost, and we thank you for your ongoing support of the Rose Haven community. With your help, we can continue to provide vital services to over 4,000 people every year.

Watch the KOIN news story here

Read the Domicile Unknown report here

 

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Ask the Organizer: “Giving Back”

 

Liz Starke, Development Director at Rose Haven, was a guest speaker on Ask the Organizer’s final virtual event of 2024! It was an inspiring session featuring a panel of local organizations dedicated to helping those in need. They shared their missions and practical ways to contribute, including how to donate in-kind items to create meaningful impact. We also explored how rightsizing our belongings can benefit both our personal spaces and the community while promoting sustainability.

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Season of Giving: Rose Haven on KATU News

Watch Season of Giving: Rose Haven on KATU

KATU is celebrating the season of giving by shining a light on local organizations that need our support. Rose Haven’s Liz Starke, Development Director, and Jessica Almroth, Volunteer and Academic Program Director, joined KATU to share their mission to provide day shelter, resources, emotional support, and community connections to women, children and marginalized genders experiencing homelessness and poverty.

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‘Brushstrokes of Hope’ Fundraiser to Benefit Portland’s Rose Haven Shelter

In collaboration with Americh, Chown Hardware are hosting a special LIVE auction event on October 3rd at their Portland showroom!

A custom Americh Somerset solid surface bathtub hand-painted by the renowned artist Donald Harvey will be auctioned off. Participation in the auction will directly benefit Portland’s Rose Haven shelter, a shelter that provides essential services to individuals experiencing homelessness. Delight in the delectable spread of food and enjoy the refreshing beverages generously provided by sponsors, Stoller Family Estates and Migration Brewing.

In this Fox 12 interview, Liz Starke and Nathanael Chown discuss the significance of this partnership and its impact on the community. Take a look behind the scenes as artist Donald Harvey shows a sneak peak into the process of hand-painting the bathtub.

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‘Going to make our work harder’: Local advocates bemoan SCOTUS Grants Pass decision

People living on Portland’s streets and those working to connect them to food, clothing and shelter reacted Friday to the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision.

The 6-3 ruling leaves it up to the cities and state to decide how they want to deal with the issue of homeless camps.

At 23-years old, a man named Romeo told KOIN 6 News he’s been homeless for two years, but working to get into housing. He said the court’s decision could impact his ability to get into housing because he has “nowhere else to go.”

“People are trying to get their lives together and everything,” he added. “And a lot of people don’t deserve to go to jail for camping.”

While the ruling won’t immediately go into effect, local humanitarian organizations say they’re concerned it could lay the groundwork for harsher penalties against an already vulnerable population.

“This does not change the problem. It merely just hides the people,” said Kat Mahoney, Executive Director of Sisters of the Road.

“This decision really does make our work more difficult,” added Liz Starke, Development Director for Rose Haven. “Because when people have additional fines or jail time, that’s ultimately getting them further and further away from their goals and sustainability.”

“This isn’t a time to ring our hands,” Starke emphasized. “It’s a time to put our arms around one another and come together.”

Stricter camping bans, increased sweeps and over-policing are among some of the other major concerns shared by those working to stabilize Portland’s homeless population.

“We know that our jails will become overcrowded,” Mahoney said. “And we know the cost to jail someone is much higher than the cost to house them.”

Scott Kerman, Executive Director of Blanchet House told KOIN 6 while the court’s decision finalizes long standing questions about the constitutionality of criminalizing homelessness, it doesn’t change or address the needs of thousands sleeping outside without enough shelter or resources.

“We really consider this to be a life-or-death situation for many people,” voiced Kerman. “And no Supreme Court decision or ordinance is necessarily going to solve for that.”

Beyond this ruling, the City’s camping ordinance is slated to go into effect on Monday.

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‘People still need help’: Debate rages on ahead of city effort to curb MultCo-funded homeless tents

A debate is raging about whether or not Multnomah County should distribute tents to the homeless one day ahead of a Portland City Council vote aimed at curbing such activity.

The City of Portland is in an agreement to provide money to the county as part of the Joint Office of Homeless Services. However, Multnomah County recently passed a nearly $4 billion budget that includes money for distributing tarps, tents and clean syringes to those living on the streets. Portland City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez says those items end up getting cleaned up by the city, costing taxpayers in the process.

Gonzalez wants to put qualifiers on the City of Portland’s new three-year Homelessness Response System Intergovernmental Agreement with Multnomah County so that the city has a say in the county’s distribution of tents and syringes. The two amendments put forth by Gonzalez will be discussed during a Portland City Council meeting on Thursday.

This all comes after another critic of Multnomah County, attorney John DiLorenzo, says the county is continuing to violate the rights of disabled people by distributing the tents, which he says ends up blocking the right-of-way on sidewalks for people with disabilities. DiLorenzo had previously represented a group of disabled people who sued the city for this same reason and won last May, which resulted in a federal court settlement in which the city agreed to keep sidewalks clear in order to not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“We need to make sure the county is compliant with those requirements,” Gonzalez said. “So we’re trying to navigate as a community the balance between compassion without enablement.”

However, not everyone sees the tents distributed to the homeless as deadweight. Rose Haven, a non-profit that works with the homeless, says tarps and tents represent some people’s livelihood.

“Nobody wants to live in a tent,” said Liz Starke, a spokesperson for Rose Haven. “For us, regardless of what happens at these city council meetings, the work continues and people still need help.”

Starke said she spends her days trying to get resources, like tents, to the unhoused.

“And so what happens when the county doesn’t give us tents is that we have to rely on individuals to fundraise for those items.”

Starke said when non-profits like hers have to raise money for tents, it puts a strain on their resources.

“This makes a huge impact for nonprofits like Rose Haven, that are triaging people’s needs. But there’s also products that are better for our community and are intentionally made for folks experiencing homelessness.”

As part of Multnomah County’s recently passed $3.96 billion budget, it includes $515,000 set aside for clean needles as part of a harm reduction effort and $250,000 for tents next year.

The county’s buying and giving out of tarps and tents is costing the City of Portland $14 million to clean up, Gonzalez said, adding he’s “very concerned for our tax payers.”

“They’re spending a lot of money both on trying to alleviate homelessness and cleaning up encampments, and we just want to make sure that when the county is doing it, the joint offices are doing it, and the City of Portland is pursuant of a well thought out policy,” he said.

Gonzalez said there have been a lot of negotiations happening at the city level, something he expects to continue right up until Thursday’s city council meeting on the matter at 9:30 a.m.

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Portland pauses homeless camp sweeps during peak heat despite new ordinance

You may not see it, but you can surely smell the result of five days of extreme temperatures on the streets of Portland’s Old Town neighborhood. Urine and hot trash seem to steep on the concrete sidewalks — inescapable for those who live on them.

“It’s disgusting. It is so gross, every corner that you turn,” said Amelia, whose face was covered in scabs Monday morning.

Amelia said the scabs were due to a fight that sent her to the hospital — all fueled by the heat, she said. “Every time the weather gets worse, everybody gets a little bit hotter, their temperatures, their attitude,” she said.

“It is hot and there are just so many people that are struggling. It gets really hot in a tent. They rarely have any ventilation,” said Liz Starke, who works at Rose Haven, a day center for homeless people.

A KGW crew found many abandoned tents Monday as people turned to places like Rose Haven or county-operated temporary cooling centers.

“We’re going to stay open until 4 o’clock today as a cooling center,” Starke said Monday.

In the meantime, those tents aren’t going anywhere. On Wednesday, the city of Portland paused camp removals and enforcement of its camping ban, which threatens jail time and fines for illegal camping, due to the severe weather emergency declared last week. This safety move came just two days after enforcement of the new ban began.

“I think it’s probably a bit performative,” Starke said of the city’s decision to pause the camping ban and camp removals.

“That should probably be the opposite if you think they should probably find shelters for them,” said Jimmy who is homeless in Southwest Portland.

The mayor’s office would not talk with KGW on camera on Monday but said this is all part of the city’s camp removal policy. Portland city commissioner and mayoral candidate Mingus Mapps sent KGW the following statement:

“While it is normal city procedure during extreme weather to not enforce camping bans, I want to take the opportunity to urge people to go to cooling shelters, find shade, and stay out of the direct sun as much as possible. We already had tragedy with heat related deaths this weekend and we’re only really beginning the summer heat waves.”

The city has paused camp removals during severe weather events before and instead those crews handed out water and encouraged people to go inside. It’s unclear if that’s what’s happening this week.

“Regardless of what happens at city hall and when these kinds of proclamations are made it doesn’t really affect people on the streets that much,” said Starke. “The word is on the street that you’re going to be swept, you’re not welcome, so once people know that that is the culture … people are not only hot and uncomfortable, they’re scared.”

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office told KGW that resuming camp removals and camping ban enforcement is dependent on the weather.

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Mayor Wheeler’s Proposed Camping Ban Draws Mixed Reactions

tent on street

 

On the one hand, many are relieved to see the mayor taking what they call a more humane approach. On the other hand, some are still concerned about it being too vague.

The proposal bans camping if there’s reasonable access to shelter.

Some organizations are now asking: What does “reasonable” mean when even Wheeler himself admitted on to KOIN 6 News Thursday night that there are not enough shelter beds for the thousands of people who are homeless in the city?

“I don’t want to see a time where all we have as reasonable shelter are mats on the ground and a community space and someone either have a consequence of jail time or that mat on the ground,” said Kristle Delihanty, the founder and executive director of PDX Saints Love. “There’s not enough shelter beds, There’s not enough substance use recovery options for people. And then it all goes all the way down to affordable housing.”

“The camping bans always affect our work because it puts people on edge and it creates a culture of fear,” said Liz Starke, the development director for Rose Haven.

However, some advocacy groups are also saying they appreciate there’s a clearer definition of camping that doesn’t include a person just sitting down with their belongings.

The ban also restricts fires, cooking, digging, trash, creating structures and having dismantled bikes or cars around tents. It also retains language from last year’s proposed camping ban — later struck down by a judge — that would require keeping public rights of way clear.

While the criminal penalties are less strict than the first ordinance, organizations who spoke to KOIN 6 News do not agree with the new repercussions: $100 fine, one week in jail or both.

“Criminalization isn’t the answer,” Starke said. “So it’s still on paper saying it’s illegal to be here when we don’t have a place for people to go.”

The Rose Haven director said people come in every single day to ask social workers to place them in shelters. But they often get the word back that there are long waitlists and that the shelters are often full.

“And if you have additional fees to pay and legal issues and appointments to get to and you may not even have a phone or an address that’s only going to make your road to recovery more difficult,” Starke said.

While some aspects of the new proposed ban are more defined, the specific phrase service providers have taken issue with is the idea of banning camping for someone who has access to “reasonable alternative shelter.”

Scott Kerman, director of the Blanchet House in Old Town, said in a statement that the proposed ordinance “appears to be a more humane and practical way to address the challenges we’re facing in our city. I appreciate the intent to help people find shelter that meets their individualized needs and prioritizes outreach over imprisonment.”

Wheeler told KOIN 6 News Thursday night that the proposed ban would give the city law enforcement tools to keep sidewalks and some public spaces clear. He said that the longer someone is on the street, the more likely they will suffer from behavioral health or substance use disorder issues.

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Oregon Seniors Struggle Under the Threat of Homelessness

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Lack of affordable housing, health care needs and a digital divide worsen conditions for homeless seniors
by Ellen Clarke | 24 Jan 2024

Editor’s note: This story discusses self-harm.

In her late 50s, Laurie depended on $100 a month in food stamps while she lived in her car. She ate cold canned soup and food she could eat without cooking. She took showers when she could at her ex-brother-in-law’s house, where she parked her car. She found temporary jobs, like packing flower bulbs into net bags at a bulb factory. It was never enough money for rent.

At one point, Laurie developed pancreatitis, which sent her to the hospital. She suffered a stroke, and doctors determined she had experienced several small strokes. This impacted her memory. In her phone contacts, she keeps “son” and “sister” typed under these people’s names and photos to stir her memory if they call.

“Sometimes I slept on the side of the road in my car,” Laurie said. “I covered the windows so no one could look in and see what I had. I didn’t sleep good. Every little noise, I’d jump.”

Accessing resources for housing, work and health care is challenging for adults experiencing poverty and homelessness in their 50s and on. For many, there is a treacherous middle ground without shelter or income. This means service providers are helping them find housing along with health care, food, transportation and safety.

Laurie was homeless for three years after losing her husband to cancer and, consequently, her home. She lived in a series of cars, couch surfed and spent a few nights in women’s shelters and hotels. With the Street Roots Rose City Resource Guide, she found her way to local nonprofits PDX Saints Love and Rose Haven Day Shelter and Community Center for women and gender-diverse people. Another program, Up & Out, helped Laurie with housing.

She qualified for rapid rehousing and, with help from an Up & Out caseworker, moved into a townhouse last month. She recently started collecting widow’s benefits, and in one year, she will reapply for housing benefits.

“I wasn’t expecting to be a widow after 25 years, but it happened,” Laurie said. “And right now, I just thank God every day for what I’ve got. Without the (Rose City Resource Guide), I would’ve died, and I hate to say it, but I would have committed suicide if I had to live on the streets.”

Experts agree adults over 55 years old need housing and specific services, but resources are hard to navigate, underfunded and in short supply.

Katie O’Brien, Rose Haven executive director, told Street Roots she’s seen an increasing number of older women like Laurie line up for services in the past few years.

“We are serving about 150 people daily,” O’Brien said. “In the morning, the line is 50-60 deep, and others continue to trickle in. Now, the line puts women at a medical disadvantage. We have umbrellas and stools we bring out to make people as comfortable as possible.”

Kristi Katzke, case manager at Blanchet House, a nonprofit that temporarily houses 50 men with wraparound services, also sees homelessness among older people on a daily basis.

At age 65, Bob remembers the quick path to homelessness when he lost his job.

“The way I became homeless is I had a stroke … I could no longer type as fast as I had been able to,” Bob, a University of Washington graduate, said. “I could not perform my technical support job I had from home anymore. And my employer decided to let me go. I had a job that was fun for me to do — it was challenging.

“I was able to support my expenditures that I had. I was renting a room.”

Bob remembers living outside for a few days with one word: cold. After staying in a shelter, he found his way to Blanchet House, which also serves daily meals in Old Town.

Survival, shelter and employment

Staff at Blanchet House and Rose Haven said they see many older people face eviction and living in cars or tents. Some stay in temporary shelters, and some couch surf.

They often have physical and cognitive disabilities and may be dealing with addiction. Unfortunately, not all can stay in shelters.

“Many older folks do not meet the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) requirements to successfully manage themselves in a congregate shelter setting,” O’Brien said. “ADLs include bathing or showering, dressing, getting in and out of bed or a chair, walking, using the toilet, and eating. Shelters simply don’t have the capacity to support in this way.”

People with increasing physical problems related to aging are left out in the cold. This makes it even more difficult to access the resources they need in the first place. Many are struggling to survive.

“What if you’re not old enough to collect (Social Security) but no longer physically able to work?” Katzke said. “What if you worked construction and your knees give out? The earliest to collect SSI is 62, but you get much less. Some folks do take it early because they have nothing, but they’ve lost the ability to get the maximum. People are working later and later. But some physically and mentally may not be able to look for a job.”

Dealing with technology for job applications or training is complicated. Finding a bus route and traveling to an interview or a job can be exhausting.

“Folks can’t make ends meet on their Social Security, so they return to employment, but employment has so many barriers, and technology is one of them,” O’Brien said. “In addition to that barrier are physical barriers and dementia.

Services

The need for health services becomes more urgent with housing instability, especially in connection with aging. This includes help with addiction recovery. Navigating technology is another useful service.

Marisa Zapata, director of the Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative at Portland State University, said people are living longer and encountering more disability issues and more complicated issues around living alone.

“When I say ‘disability,’ I’m including mental health,” Zapata said. “People with dementia need to be in assisted living. But it is so expensive. It’s unrealistic that people can get into assisted living at the cost we are looking at. If they don’t have family members, where are they going to go?”

On-site medical care is an essential service for transitional or long-term housing with people who are in their 50s and older. Finding transportation to the emergency room, followed by a long wait, can be risky and difficult.

“We have a small clinic here three days a week, and even though the nurse practitioner is not Bob’s primary full-time care, they do med management,” Katzke said. “It’s been nice to not run to the doctor every time there is a need for urgent care.”

In addition to the clinic, Blanchet House offers a safe and sober recovery opportunity. Duke Reiss, a peer support and housing specialist at Blanchet House, advocates for seniors who are struggling with addiction. Addiction can be a barrier to staying in shelters and for assisted living, limiting long-term options.

“It’s hard for seniors to quit using drugs,” Reiss said. “Veterans struggling with addiction were in the worst environment, especially those who were in Vietnam. They experienced trauma and pressure to use drugs and do things they wouldn’t normally do. All our seniors grew up in a different culture. Everyone with addiction deserves sympathy and encouragement.”

The aging homeless Portlanders at Blanchet House fit into three categories, Reiss said. Some are addicted. Some could better manage addiction if they were offered housing, but there is no room for them in assisted living or other facilities. Some have no addictions but struggle cognitively. For anyone with memory loss, it is extremely difficult to deal with bureaucracy and provide a mailing address, ID and necessary paperwork to qualify for housing.

“A lot of our seniors sleep under jackets on the sidewalk and can’t put up a tent,” Reiss said. “It is hard to keep track of a tent and not lose it. This is prevalent about all their items. We need to give our seniors unlimited access to phones, clothes, shoes, socks, underwear and diapers. They get taken advantage of and lose these. They need to have replenished supplies more than anyone and are stuck in the elements. I have to get supplies to some seniors every day.”

Rose Haven also replaces stolen or lost IDs and supplies, along with providing technical services for completing job and housing applications.

Long-term housing

“What we do is an investment,” Katzke said. “We’ve invested time.”

Bob is applying for Social Security Disability Income, or SSDI, benefits and then can apply for housing.

“We started the process of applying for SSDI last spring,” Katzke said. “It could still be six months or more before approval, then the wait for funds is usually several more months. Once approved, we can start looking for assisted living that will accept his insurance. You can imagine how much more difficult this process is if a person is suffering from cognitive issues and does not have the support Bob has benefited from.”

According to the Harvard study, “Housing America’s Older Adults 2023,” the annual median cost of assisted living and other costs of living in Portland is $75,000. The share of households able to afford assisted living is 16%. For people like Bob, these costs are out of reach without help.

Funding

Like other nonprofits, Blanchet House has to be creative about funding its services. It is supported by individuals, businesses and grants. It uses food recovery and involves many volunteers while serving 1,000 meals a day.

Scott Kerman, Blanchet House executive director, said the organization will receive Metro Supportive Housing Services funds for the first six months of 2024. This is implemented through Multnomah County, specifically the Joint Office of Homeless Services.

“Blanchet House is grateful that agencies that provide vital services during daytime hours are receiving support from (Supportive Housing Services) funds,” Kerman said. “I’m hoping this kind of county support will continue in the future because day centers are struggling to keep up with the need in our community, especially as serious mental illness and substance use disorder continues to escalate. The need we’re serving is urgent, so I’m hopeful that the county and Joint Office will continue to seek improvements that make accessing funding a more expedited and less onerous experience.”

With SHS funding, 99% of formerly unhoused people stayed in long-term housing after a year, OPB reported in November 2023. The Joint Office also surpassed its goal of offering rent assistance to those at risk of eviction. However, $42 million went unspent. According to the county, this is because of staff retention at nonprofits they contract with due to low wages and poor benefits.

There is still a growing need for housing and a sense of urgency among organizations serving homeless populations relying on Multnomah County to efficiently implement funding from Supportive Housing Services. According to Laura Golino de Lovato, Northwest Pilot Program executive director, this would enable older homeless people to access housing stability through Regional Long-term Rent Assistance vouchers.

An elderly woman who often joins the line at Rose Haven exemplifies this need for housing.

“She is in a wheelchair, unable to (use the) toilet on her own,” O’Brien said. “She is not able to go to a shelter where her options are to be on a mat or in a bunk. She has an Adult Protective Services caseworker, but they need time to find options for her. Her eviction makes this especially challenging, and access to nursing or assisted facilities are hard to procure. In the meantime, she is sleeping at bus shelters, experiencing the weather elements and being sexually harassed.”

“She comes to Rose Haven, and we provide her daytime shelter and assist her in finding the best options at the moment — which are never great ones.”

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