LET T Y OWINGS CENTER WWW.CENTRALCIT YCONCERN.ORG PAGE 1

Letty Owings CenterA CENTRAL CIT Y CONCERN PROGRAM DECEMBER 2012

Two Sisters: One Recovery Mission for Women and Children

In the spring of 1986, at the age of 28, Holly Hale* was in trouble. Though working full-time and living in her own apartment in Portland, her

cocaine use was increasing and she was calling in sick more and more often. She knew her life was spinning out of control and that she needed treatment for her addiction. But there was a major hurdle: Holly had a 5-year-old son, Jacob. Going to treatment would almost surely mean putting her son in foster care or losing custody. “I didn’t trust anybody with him,” said Holly. “I knew I was out of control, I knew I couldn’t stop, but I didn’t want to lose my son because of treatment.”

So Holly called her older sister, Nancy Anderson, who was in recovery herself and had achieved four years of sobriety at that point. Nancy was eager to help Holly, but her hands were full with a recently adopted baby boy and three school-aged children. Despite these challenges, Nancy told Holly, “If you’re really serious about doing this, you can sleep on my couch. Bring Jacob with you.” According to Nancy, “My husband was a saint about it, and Holly turned out to be the first of many women who I helped out while they were starting their recovery.”

“It was tough,” recalled Holly. “I had a lot of anxiety. Sometimes, I didn’t know if I wanted to be clean. I paced a lot. I was not easy to be around.” Nancy was figuring out how to help her sister kick her cocaine habit by trial and error while keeping an eye on the five children. She sought out Narcotics Anonymous for advice. Holly recalls gratefully, “Nancy took me to my first meeting.”

The sisters were stunned to discover that Holly had so few options simply because she wanted to keep Jacob with her while being treated for her addiction. Nancy recalls, “I couldn’t believe it when women with children were asked to leave recovery meetings because it was distracting to others.”

Holly stayed with Nancy until the drugs were out of her system. “It took a couple of weeks, but felt like a lot longer,” Holly said. She then moved into a new rented house. “There were too many users at my old place,” said Holly. Holly eventually found an outpatient treatment center in southwest Washington that would take her as long as Nancy could continue to provide childcare. Nancy did. Holly also continued to attend NA meetings and completed outpatient treatment.

Nancy and Holly, along with six of their friends, decided then to create a new kind of program called 12-Step Haven. “It was a place for women to come for recovery help in Portland where they could bring their kids. We had on-site child care. Mothers who participated were asked to donate $1 for the childcare. A lot of women got clean there,” Holly said. continued next page

*Holly Hale married and became Holly Redeau in 1996.

Richard Anderson, Nancy’s husband, with the five children from their household in 1986. Holly’s son Jacob is second from the left.

LET T Y OWINGS CENTER WWW.CENTRALCIT YCONCERN.ORG PAGE 2

Individual DonorsVivian C. AllisonAntonette AmatoPauline and Lloyd AndersonTerry C. AndersonRichard and Nancy AndersonAnonymousDon and Gaile BaackJerre Anne and Richard BaderSteven P. BarryConstance BeallSusan BennettJanet BrandtGregory ByrneKathleen A. CarmichaelCarol J. CarpenterStephen and Judith CarrollGlenn E. ChilcoteMaribeth CollinsMickie S. DuvalDale C. and Jean L. Eggers

Mark PilkentonJulie RedfordMichael P. RieneckerEthel and George SaltzbergJim and Margot SchellHerbert and Esther SeamanJean ShirleyJames SjulinCarol Smith LarsonCharlann SniderDonald & Geraldine TisdelRichard and Melba Van ZanteRichard WaldGeorge and Marilyn WaltersSarah WetjenJennifer WilsonDavid and Karole WilsonMargaret WilsonMike WithamWalter and Connie Wood

Bruce and Susan EstesJames Scott and Susan FerrisMarguerite FoellerLeonard GregerSusan R. HansonTracie HardimanMartin and Sylvia Hart-LandsbergSig-Linda Jacobson M.D.Jeff & Robin JensenRobert A. JensenMaureen Patricia KennyJames KinniburghSheila A. KirkRuthanne LidmanElaine LinneDarrell and Ann ManningWilliam L. McQueenGregory R. & Rebecca L. MoweJames and Sheila NicholsMarilyn OpatzRay and Letty OwingsMary Ann Phillips

Sisters, continued from front...Seeing the challenges of recovery and motherhood everyday at 12-Step Haven inspired Nancy to begin thinking about a residential treatment center for women and children. In 1989, in partnership with Letty Owings and Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Nancy co-founded the Letty Owings House. It opened with eight women and gradually expanded. Holly continued to work at 12-Step Haven until Nancy recruited her to help run the Letty Owings House.

In 1996, the sisters turned their attention to the lack of housing options for women successfully graduating from the Letty Owings House. Nancy convinced the local Housing Authority to build Sunrise Place, a 10-unit apartment complex in Northeast Portland for families in recovery. Holly joined the Sunrise Place staff as the program’s first case manager.

A year later, Nancy Anderson approached Richard Harris, then executive director of Central City Concern, about adopting the treatment and housing programs that Nancy and Holly had helped to create

for Portland area women. Since 1997, when Central City Concern adopted these programs, Letty Owings Center and CCC’s family housing programs have enabled more than 1,200 mothers to achieve long-term recovery and a better life for their kids.

Today, Holly manages 88 units of alcohol and drug free family housing for Central City Concern, and Nancy is still keeping a close eye on the Letty Owings Center.

Jacob, Holly’s oldest, graduated from the University of Oregon and found work in San Diego. Among the other kids Holly counts as her own are hundreds that have passed through the doors at Sunrise Place. “I run into people all the time who tell me they lived at Sunrise. I knew them as children, and as adults they recognize me and want to tell me what Sunrise Place meant to them. As soon as one of these kids tells me their name, I remember their apartment number and their mother’s story. It’s great to find out how things turned out,” said Holly.

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Donor list reflects gifts made from November 1, 2011 through October 30, 2012

Organization DonorsBurgervilleBurgerville/The Holland Inc.Burpee Family Charitable FundChristian Women’s/Christian

Men’s FellowshipChurch Women UnitedDaughters of Penelope,

Troy ChapterDental KineticsEmmanuel Presbyterian ChurchFirst Christian ChurchJerry and Corrine Nothman Fund

of the O.C.F.Lake Grove Presbyterian ChurchMentor Professional CorporationMoreland Presbyterian ChurchNorthwest NaturalNorthwest Natural Gas

Women’s NetworkOregon Community FoundationOur Savior’s Lutheran ChurchParkrose United Methodist WomenPivot Group LLCProvidence Plan PartnersSaint Andrew Lutheran ChurchSaint Luke Lutheran ChurchTigard United Methodist ChurchTrinity United Methodist WomenUnited Methodist WomenUnited Methodist Women of PortlandThe Varitz FoundationWestminster Presbyterian ChurchWilshire United Methodist Women

Gifts in Kind Individual DonorsIWR AndersonSteven Barry & Kathleen McAuliffSusan BennettMaya BlackmanRebecca BoboskyDebra BorgeltCharissa BrockJ. BroderNiquaja BurnsElizabeth CutlerDonna DelarosaDonna DyeSarah EricksonSherri FalsettoCarol FrenchKathleen GallagherSara GrahamRobert & Sara Jo JensenKarl and Jo Deana JensenRobert A. JensonJames KinniburghDiane KoosedRobbyn LeventhalDan MarchandSharon MelkersonShawna NeumanBarb O’MalleyMitchel PonelCarroll and Nelda PowellKarol RhoadesCharlene RogersHeather and Josh SimkoTheodore SmithDenise and Dallas SpacalJudy StampKathy SugnetBrooke VanRoelalRichard and Roberta WaldArnette WalkerJessica WhiteJoLynne Zimmerman

Gifts in Kind Organization DonorsBurpee Family Charitable FundChurch Women UnitedDa Vinci GardensEverett Community GardenHanna AnderssonHoly Trinity Greek Orthodox ChurchMay Family TrustNoble DaycareProvidence Health & Services

Memorial/Honorary Donations James Sjulin & Gay Greger in honor of E. Jay GregerRobert & Sara Jo Jensen in memory of Paul McCrackenCharlann Snider in memory of Tracy Lynn Snider

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

P A I DPermit No. 1739

Portland, OR232 NW Sixth Avenue Portland, Oregon 97209

LET T Y OWINGS CENTER WWW.CENTRALCIT YCONCERN.ORG PAGE 4

Save the Date!

Thursday, April 11, 2012 evening

“We Are Family”Letty Owings Center Celebration in honor of Nancy Anderson

Location to be announced - downtown Portland

Watch for invitation in early March.

Adopt-A-Child Holiday Toy and Gift Drive

For over 200 children in CCC’s Family Housing Communities & the Letty Owings Center

For a child’s Wish List call 503-317-2065, holly.redeau@ccconcern.org

For baby needs, call the Letty Owings Center, 503-235-3546

Or give a CCC mom the chance to shop for her own children by donating a Gift Card or

Gift Certificate!

Mail or deliver cards and gifts to: Central City Concern, 232 NW 6th Ave,

Portland, OR 97209

changing lives building communities creating opportunities

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 2

Recent reports have brought national attention to the crisis of family and youth homelessness in Oregon. On one night in Portland in

January 2011, advocates counted 751 children as “literally homeless” – sleeping in emergency shelters or on a voucher in a motel, or unsheltered. The number of homeless families from 2009 to 2011 increased by 35%. Counting the hundreds of families who are “doubling-up” with friends or relatives each year in sometimes dangerous circumstances the uptick has been even more dramatic. In September 2012, Multnomah County was so alarmed by the increased number of homeless families that it released $200,000 in emergency funding for housing resources to address the overflow problem that is anticipated in family shelters before winter comes.

The toll of homelessness on children can cause lifelong problems. “Homelessness can adversely affect a child’s mental health and behavior, school attendance and educational achievement, cognitive and motor development and general health,” says Debbie Borgelt, Director for CCC’s outpatient and residential chemical dependency services.

Homeless families also frequently suffer from ills such as substance abuse and domestic violence. CCC’s Letty Owings Center provides one of the only locations in the state where mothers can receive residential treatment while pregnant or while caring for newborn and very young children. This program, which depends on support from donors to keep its doors open, will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of CCC’s Family and Peer Support Fund.

Homeless Families in Need

Inside the Letty Owings Center insert: See how two sisters transformed addiction treatment for women in Oregon.

changing lives building communities creating opportunitiespage 2

If you are reading this article, then you have probably noticed that something is different about

our fall newsletter.

In the past, CCC has only mailed our Letty Owings Center (LOC) newsletter to those donors who have designated gifts to that program. If you are a LOC supporter, you may have never before received a copy of The Chronicle, CCC’s newsletter that covers a broad spectrum of news about the agency’s efforts to end homelessness and create self-sufficiency.

To support the launch of CCC’s new Homeless Action Fund for Family and Peer Support, we have combined our most recent

issue of the Letty Owings Center newsletter with our fall issue of The Chronicle. Our goal is to raise

your awareness of, and support for, all of CCC’s services that assist homeless families and children.

Check Your Mailbox!

Next week, CCC will be mailing out our annual Holiday Appeal,

with a special message from Letty Owings (pictured above). Please take a few minutes to open this letter and consider some of the many important reasons for making a year-end gift to Central City Concern. The money raised with this year’s Holiday Appeal

will be used to support the special needs of children and families at Central City Concern. Your gifts will provide critically needed operating support for the Letty Owings Center and other services at CCC that are reuniting families and ending generational cycles of addiction, domestic violence and homelessness.

Toy Drive!We also hope you will consider participating in CCC’s Adopt a Child Toy Drive this year, which ensures that the children in our programs aren’t overlooked when Chanukah and Christmas gifts are being handed out. More information about the toy drive is available on CCC’s website: www.centralcity concern.org. Call Holly Redeau for information, 503-317-2065.

What’s New with CCC News?

New Family & Peer Support Fund at Central City Concern

Beginning this month, CCC is launching a new Homeless Action Fund

for Family and Peer Support. CCC’s first Homeless Action Fund for Self-Sufficiency was created in 2008 to support the expansion of CCC’s employment and job training programs. This new Homeless Action Fund will help expand CCC’s capacity to assist families and children who are homeless or insecurely housed.

The new Fund will: 1. Provide critical operating

support for the Letty Owings Center.

2. Enable more families to seamlessly transition from the Letty Owings Center to CCC’s supportive family housing.

3. Expand access to childcare and transportation so parents in CCC’s family housing can complete outpatient treatment, go on job interviews, or pursue an education.

4. Support peer-delivered services for families at Puentes, CCC’s addiction and mental health treatment program for Hispanic families and teens.

CCC’s Homeless Action Fund Campaign for Family and Peer Support will culminate this spring with a new fundraising event that will honor Nancy Anderson, who co-founded the Letty Owings Center. Nancy’s sister, Holly, is a program manager overseeing CCC’s family, alcohol and drug free supportive housing communities. Daniel Garcia is program manager for Puentes, which was established in 2005.

changing lives building communities creating opportunities page 3

Governor Kitzhaber (left) and Central City Concern’s Executive Director, Ed Blackburn

Governor John Kitzhaber Honors Housing & Healthcare Heroes at CCC’s November Luncheon

Take the Quiz: CCC Facts!

How many non-profit organizations and public agencies depend upon CCC to provide critical services for the people they serve?

A – Over 10B – Over 25C – Over 40

Answer: C, CCC works to strengthen all aspects of the safety net system by providing complementary services related to housing, healthcare, mental health, addictions treatment and employment support.

What percentage of CCC’s employees are in recovery or graduated from one of CCC’s own programs?

A – 14%B – 25%C – 40%

Answer: C, At CCC, we walk our talk by providing job opportunities to the people we serve at all levels of the agency from the front desk to senior management.

How many local businesses are partnering with CCC to put individuals exiting homelessness to work in living wage jobs?

A – 99B – 249C – 450

Answer: A, Over 450 CCC clients found jobs in the last year with 249 employers; 99 of those employers signed up to be a CCC Employment Partner. Interested businesses can contact CCC’s Employment Access Center job development staff for more information. Call 503-226-7387.

Why was CCC audited more than 40 times in the past year? A – Government watchdog

agencies want to be sure that every dollar of public funding is accounted for at CCC.

B – CCC’s comprehensive continuum of services requires many different kinds of audits to ensure that we are achieving the outcomes that our supporters expect.

C – CCC and our client-led advisory groups carefully evaluate all our programs each year to ensure the most positive client experience possible.

D – All of the above.Answer: D, We consistently receive top marks for quality, efficiency, satisfaction, and compliance.

More than 500 people attended CCC’s November 8th luncheon celebrating CCC’s 5th Annual Homeless Action Fund Campaign for Self-Sufficiency.

Governor John Kitzhaber joined the luncheon and commended local area hospitals for their collaborative work to transform healthcare delivery systems to more effectively serve people on Medicaid. Dr. George Brown, CEO of Legacy Health Systems, was highlighted for his leadership in this area.

City Commissioner Nick Fish was also on hand to recognize Bob Walsh, Managing Partner of Walsh Construction Co. and its holding company, Thidwick Partners. Bob Walsh has dedicated many years to improving the quality of life for low-income families, senior citizens and those with special needs by focusing on the construction of affordable, beautiful and sustainable multi-unit housing.

continued on back

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

P A I DPermit No. 1739

Portland, OR232 NW Sixth Avenue Portland, Oregon 97209

Social MediaKeep up to date on Central City Concern’s work:

Blogwww.centralcityconcern.org/blog

Facebookfacebook.com/CCCPortland

Twittertwitter.com/CCCPortland

YouTubeyoutube.com/CentralCityConcern

E-newsletterSign up at centralcityconcern.org/newsletter.htm

Why is CCC expanding the number of individuals engaged in our programmatic alumni groups? A – Individuals and families that

have achieved self-sufficiency are uniquely qualified to nurture and support personal transformation and recovery in others.

B – CCC wants to expand by 100% the number of clients served by peers in all our program areas.

C – Opportunities to help others can increase the odds that a person who has achieved self-sufficiency will avoid relapse.

D – All of the above. Answer: D, In the past 6 months, 77 new program graduates have registered to join CCC’s growing alumni volunteer community.

• Buy 12-oz bags for yourself! ($11/bag)• Purchase it for the office for the season! • Give single bags as gifts or check out the Holiday Gift Basket!

However you choose to enjoy Portland Roasting’s single origin, organic Holiday Roast, you’ll be benefiting Central City Concern’s self-sufficiency programs!

To order/purchase:• Drop by our Business Enterprises office, 118 NW 3rd Avenue, Portland,

503-467-4630*• Pick it up at retail grocers - New Seasons, Zupan’s Markets, Fred Meyer

(Stadium & Hawthorne), Sheridan Fruit Company, Lamb’s Garden Home and Made In Oregon stores

• Order it online at portlandroasting.com. Gift baskets also available.

*Buy from Business Enterprises for biggest fundraising impact.

Quiz continued: Holiday Roast Coffee now Available!