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Fall 2020 Report to Donors
With love and gratitude to you How your generosity this past year brought hope, humanity, joy and life-changing new beginnings to children and adults with disabilities, and to seniors and veterans.
Your generosity transformed the life of Juan, and his young daughter, who earlier in the year were on the verge of becoming homeless, mostly because of a tragic medical disability. At the age of 43, Juan lost his vision due to an uncontrolled, debilitating case of diabetes that had been left unchecked for years while he was uninsured and could not afford quality health care. He came to Easterseals Oregon with tremendous sadness about becoming blind, as well as fear and anxiety about his ability to take care of himself and his daughter. Thanks to your compassion and generosity, this young father received the support and guidance he needed to immediately get on track to securing permanent housing and employment and a lifetime of hope, peace, and independence. Juan quickly learned new skills and mindsets through Easterseals Oregon and its Connecting Communities Program – skills and mindsets that dissolved his fear, anger and anxieties about what had happened to him and how he and his daughter would survive. Although initially he was very depressed when job interview after job interview resulted in rejections and with the realization of how few employers were willing to give him a chance, Juan was deeply moved by the Easterseals Oregon team who kept propelling him forward and believing in his ability to succeed and find meaningful, secure employment and a better life for himself and his daughter. It worked. His Easterseals case manager took him to a job fair and went from booth to booth with him, introducing him to prospective employers. A recruitment specialist from New Seasons Market immediately recognized Juan’s pure passion for working, and authentic desire to be part of a company dedicated to high-quality food and service. The next day, she called Juan and offered him a position in the produce department. Juan was thrilled. Even though his position had to be temporarily eliminated a few months later after the pandemic weighed in, New Seasons Market could not bare to lose such a dedicated and beloved employee. Instead, they created a position for Juan to be responsible for sanitizing the store and
protecting everyone from the COVID-19 virus. Juan worked so hard in this position that on May 21, 2020, New Seasons Market gathered his colleagues and everyone in the store to hear the announcement that he was being hired as a full-time, permanent employee – back in the produce department that he loves! Juan took the job, of course, is now living with his daughter in their own apartment, with joy.
You made this all possible. Thank you.
Elaine was living in her car in a church parking lot in Portland. She had left behind her life in Cuba to move to the United States for a better one, but didn’t realize that her license as a registered nurse in Cuba would not be accepted in Oregon. Not knowing a soul, she burned through her life savings to pay for hotels while the weeks turned into months of not being able to secure a job.
She was broke, both financially and emotionally, overwhelmed by the deep hole she was in from not having a job, a place to live, friends or family, and the means to get the certifications she needed to secure work as a nurse in Oregon. Tired of seeing her living in her car, a person living nearby called the police to get them to tow Elaine’s car out of the church parking lot. Thankfully, the pastor ran outside to intervene before her car was taken away. He wanted to speak with Elaine and to hear her story. He listened to it, and right away, the pastor told Elaine about Easterseals Oregon as a place that could definitely help her. Fast forward 24 hours. Through the pastor’s humanity and your gifts to Easterseals Oregon, Elaine was no longer homeless and without the hope or guidance she needed to get out of the deep hole she was in. At Easterseals, she was immediately connected to a case manager who helped her get a place to live,
emergency food and hygiene kits, and a plan for getting the training she needed to become a licensed Certified Nursing Assistant in Oregon. Too often, people in Elaine’s situation are given resources and support to get through an immediate crisis, and then left alone to navigate the equally as critical long-term road to self-sufficiency. But through your compassion and belief in the programs of Easterseals Oregon, Elaine gained the longer-term, more humane and comprehensive services she needed to rise above and overcome homelessness and to connect much more deeply and permanently to the community. After Easterseals Oregon helped her get the training and certification she needed to be licensed as a nurse in Oregon, she was able to get a job as a certified nursing assistant at an assisted care home. But shortly thereafter, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. A shocking 10 of her patients passed away from the virus. Within a few days, Elaine tested positive and became seriously ill as well. At home by herself, she had no way to get food or medication. Her Easterseals Oregon case manager made deliveries almost every day, leaving essential supplies and nutritious food at Elaine’s doorstep, paid for through donations from people like you. Her case manager also made sure that Elaine’s rent, electricity and other bills were paid so that Elaine would not be evicted while she was sick and unable to work. She texted her daily to help her feel connected and cared about through a very difficult time of being horrifically ill, scared and alone. She also helped Elaine get to all of the medical appointments she needed in order to safely and fully recover from COVID-19. Although Elaine was invited to return to her job, she had too much sadness and fear to return to the nursing home where she had experienced so much loss. Through your support of Easterseals, she was able to remain in her home while unemployed and to take the time she needed to recover completely from COVID-19 and to secure an excellent new job in a much safer facility.
We don’t know how to thank you in a way that comes even close to capturing what your generosity and compassion bring to people in need. We hope that Elaine’s story gives you at least a sense of what you have given and made possible. Thank you.
Imagine being 57, without a family, and without a savings account. You have a job, but the only housing you can afford is an apartment that you have to share with four men – most of whom harass and threaten you, nightly. The COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, and you lose your job. How do you find a new job, when on top of everything else, you don’t have a safe place to live, you don’t have a computer or access to the internet to apply for jobs, and worst of all, you’ve lost the lion’s share of your courage and confidence because you are convinced that you are “too old” to be hired and too unskilled to secure a job in this time? You’re on the verge of becoming homeless, and completely alone. Thanks to you, and the compassion and generosity you have shown as a donor to Easterseals Oregon, women like Claudia, whose life situation is described above, have risen out of despair, isolation and near homelessness this year – even during a global pandemic – securing work and the support they need to vastly improve their lives and futures. Claudia stumbled upon the Easterseals Oregon office in Clackamas County this past April, curious as to why it was open during the pandemic. We told her that Easterseals was given permission by the State to remain opened since our employment programs for seniors and veterans with special needs are considered essential services. She immediately enrolled in our program for seniors – and the next day began taking computer classes and online trainings through our (COVID-safe) on-site computer lab. Her Easterseals case manager helped her find a much safer, more stable place to live, and set up funds to underwrite her housing until she found a job. The case manager also connected her with a food bank and other essential resources to help propel her health and wellness. Without the overwhelming stress of not knowing how she would pay for food and shelter, she could focus on building her future. She dove in right away, taking a 4-week series of full-time skill-building classes and training at Easterseals Oregon. She completed the course in four weeks, and was overjoyed upon receiving her certificate of training. Although the next few weeks were discouraging as the pandemic continued to severely limit job openings and on-the-job training opportunities, Claudia found life-saving support and guidance through her Easterseals Oregon case manager, who made sure to continually send her job leads and who did regular wellness check-ins with her.
It all paid off. At the end of May, Claudia received a call from a potential employer, asking if she would be willing to do a “job tryout” for two weeks. If she passed the two-week tryout and training period, she’d be hired. She did. In early June, she was offered a full-time position as a COVID-19 safety officer in a large facility, earning $16 per hour plus benefits. Thanks to you, Claudia is on a completely different path in life now. Not only can she sleep at night in peace, she has a job she loves, and the fear and despair that dominated her life for years has been replaced with courage, confidence and connection to the larger community and to the greater good of the world. You made this possible through your donations to Easterseals Oregon. Thank you for believing in and investing in people like Claudia, who needed a hand up and tangible support, as we all often do, several times during our lives.
Thank you for the humanity, peace, dignity and hope you brought to her life, and to us all, especially during this profoundly challenging year.
For decades, Emily was living the life of her dreams. A marketing professional for major corporations in Portland, she enjoyed a full and active life. Her weekends were packed solid with dinner parties, trips to museums and theaters to see plays, and with hikes around the city and state. It all came crashing down when a serious illness took over her life, totally out of the blue. Sick most of the time, she was unable to work. She was unable to go out of her apartment. She lost her job and then burned through her life savings to pay for rent, utilities, food, medical care and other necessities. But what hurt the most was the feeling of being completely, utterly, devastatingly alone. “I felt like I was silly putty. I couldn’t move.” But when it became crystal clear that she was the verge of losing her apartment because she could no longer afford it, she went to Easterseals Oregon to enroll in our program for mature job seekers. It’s called Senior Community Service Employment Program. “I don’t have huge, glaring disabilities, but I know that I need help, a lot of help in figuring out where I can work, where I can belong again, and what I can do,” she said in her enrollment meeting. She immediately began taking computer skills-building and other job readiness classes at Easterseals Oregon. She participated in everything we had to offer, including working with an employment specialist who served as her coach and case manager. Just as Emily was getting placed in a part-time paid internship at a nonprofit organization, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The training was put on hold, but thanks to your generosity to Easterseals Oregon, Emily did not lose her apartment or her much-needed sense of connection to the world. With gifts from donors like you, she was able to continue to participate in the program and her rent was paid through emergency funds and grants. “Easterseals offers a weekly ‘Town Hall’ for the seniors in this program. We get on Zoom together for the Town Hall, and I love it. It makes you feel like you are part of something. I learn that I am not the only one struggling. Everyone on the call and everyone who goes to Easterseals does so because
something happened to them. Life is very uncertain. Sometimes, we all need help.” “I came looking for help in re-entering the workforce, but I received so much more. Suddenly, instead of worrying so much about things like, “How am I going to pay the rent tomorrow?” you can focus on the things you really need to do to get back into the world, get back into work. Easterseals gives you a sense of humanity, of belonging and of real connection to an organization with a deep purpose. It has been a lifeline for me, especially throughout this whole pandemic.”
“It means a lot to me to know that I am not completely alone, and that I’m not the only one struggling.” Please let your donors know how profoundly grateful I am to them for caring about people like me.”
Spend just two minutes talking to Jeff, and you’ll be moved by his intellect, by his profound love for his wife and 6-year-old son, and by his years of service as a soldier for the U.S. Army in Bosnia and Kuwait and around the world. He’s a force to be reckoned with. That’s why learning about the tragedy he, his wife and son have lived through this year will completely shock you, even if you’ve heard a 1,001 stories before about veterans and what they often face when they come home. What they often face is a plethora of complicated emotions and questions. In Jeff’s case, the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic put his anxiety from military service over the edge, ironically leading him to quit his job, give up their family home, sell everything, and end up living in their car, camping throughout Oregon. It wasn’t until his 6-year-old son, Ben, looked up at him one day this past June and said, “Dad, I’m tired of camping. When can we get a home?” that Jeff realized he had to do something to get help. While talking to a veteran in a campground near Medford, he learned about the programs Easterseals Oregon offers to veterans who are looking for help getting housed and back into the workforce. He visited our center in Medford and enrolled. He was immediately connected to an Easterseals Oregon case manager, who set Jeff and his family up with vouchers to live in a clean, safe motel nearby — not just for one night or one week, but for however long it took to help him secure a job and enough income to rent an apartment. Thanks to your generosity to Easterseals Oregon, Jeff and his family also received emergency food kits and COVID-19 safety kits. With housing and food secured for himself and his family, Jeff could now focus on finding work. But before even looking for a job, his Easterseals case manager insisted that they take the time to understand what jobs would be most interesting and satisfying to him and to address the issues that were haunting him and preventing him from taking a job and living in one place. After many assessments and counseling sessions, they determined that the best jobs for him would be those that allow him to work with and help people all day long, instead of being alone at a computer all day or working in sales or business. For weeks, his Easterseals case manager worked with Jeff to provide professional and emotional support through the inevitably stressful job-hunting process, where Jeff would often need reassurance and coaching to alleviate his anxiety or whatever other issues came forward.
On July 20, 2020, Jeff was hired by Providence Medical Center, in a full-time position working directly with patients. It’s a job he loves – a job that challenges his intellect and fulfills his need to give back — and that includes excellent health insurance and other substantial benefits and stability for his family. On August 25, 2020, the family moved into their own home – an apartment in their dream location of Ashland, Oregon. Jeff’s son is happily enrolled in school there in Ashland, and he and his mom are enjoying their new home and life with their dad.
We don’t know how to thank you for everything you made possible for Jeff and his family. Thanks to your compassion and generosity to Easterseals Oregon, this wonderful young father and dedicated veteran received the deep, humane, non-judgmental, unhurried support that was needed to help unearth what had been holding him back as well as what he needed to address and do to move forward and to take care of his family, for life. What an enormous gift. Thank you.
Names of program participants have been changed to protect their privacy.
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To you, from a dad: When our daughter, Katie, was still in school, her case worker from Oregon’s Developmental Disabilities Program asked us if Katie was going to summer camp that summer. The very thought of letting Katie go to a summer camp was terrifying to us at the time. “What if this happens?” and “What if that happens” and “Not safe!” filled our minds.
But Katie, who is mostly non-verbal due to her disability, clearly indicated that she did want to go to camp. It was so rare to hear her communicate her wishes. We knew it was very important to her to go. My wife and I agreed to look into the Easterseals’ summer camp, despite all of our fears and objections. We found a few videos on YouTube explaining the opportunities the camp provides and that walked us through the program. We found that the camp was run by individuals who cared for people with special challenges like Katie and met their needs professionally and provided all kinds of experiences for fun and adventures together safely and inclusively. Our fears were calmed by our new level of understanding and reassurance. Katie has been attending your summer camp for nine years now. She looks forward to going to camp all year long. She wears her past camp shirts with pride and with fondness. She often points to the Easterseals logo on the front and says, “Easterseals Summer Camp” with a pop of her ‘P’ and then says, “My friends.” Easterseals camps give Katie an opportunity to learn new things and the ability to be independent and away from Mom and Dad. This time is important to her younger brother, too. He loves and looks forward to having Mom and Dad all to himself, and to do fun things with us, on our own, without Katie.
It was devastating for Katie and for our whole family that she could not attend the Easterseals Summer Camp this past year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the fires that tore through the area. Our sadness is beyond words to describe the unimaginable tragedy of what this means to us and our family, if the Easterseals Summer Camp does not get built back and is not offered in 2021. But we want to share our gratitude to all of the people who give so generously to Easterseals Oregon so that people like Katie can enjoy the freedom and joy of being outdoors and attending your camp.
You have brought so much joy to Katie’s life, and to ours. We are forever grateful to you.
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To you, from your team across Oregon: “You help us serve people who are experiencing some of the worst moments of their lives. Veterans come to Easterseals Oregon because they have nowhere else to turn; they have burned bridges or lost family support and have found themselves alone in the world. It takes courage for a Veteran to reach out for help and we work to meet that courage with humility, compassion, kindness, and a willingness to see the person behind the story.
This work is possible because of you. With your support we have been able to craft a program that allows us to meet Veterans where they are – mentally, physically, and emotionally, and walk alongside them through the process of moving from homelessness to housing, from despair to hope. From the bottom of our hearts, we at Easterseals Oregon thank you for what you give to help us change lives.” Mary Sepulveda, Program Manager Easterseals Oregon, Supportive Services for Veteran Families
1816 PEOPLE SERVED WITH DISABILITIES OR SPECIAL NEEDS*
142 FOUND HOUSING PREVIOUSLY HOMELESS
503 PLACED IN JOBS PREVIOUSLY UNEMPLOYED
36 CAMPERS SERVED WHILE ALSO PROVIDING RESPITE CARE FOR CAREGIVERS *SERVED IN 2019 PROGRAM YEAR
“I am passionate about creating inclusive and healthy communities. I love how through the Connecting Communities program of Easterseals Oregon we are able to profoundly help people with disabilities who need extra help finding ways to be part of our society. Thank you for your donations to Easterseals Oregon. You make it possible for us to continue the work of connecting our communities and building a more inclusive and supportive State, for all.” Joseph Drevets, ESL Instructor, Easterseals Oregon, Connecting Communities Program
“The people we serve through your gifts are the most vulnerable Oregonians. They are our neighbors, our loved ones, our teachers, and our friends. We all have gifts to offer in order to make this world a better place, and the value of recognizing the quality and worth in another human being is unmeasurable. You are the pillar to all of this. Thank you.” Michelle Bowers, Program Coordinator Easterseals Oregon, Senior Community Service Employment Program
Easterseals Oregon has been serving Oregonians since 1947. At no time in our 73-year history have more children and adults with disabilities been in need. Please remember Easterseals Oregon when making your charitable gifts this Holiday Season and in the New Year.
7300 SW Hunziker Rd, Ste 103 Portland, OR 97223
Text ESO to 41444 to bring hope and essential services to Oregonians in need right now. You can also mail your gift to: Easterseals Oregon, 7300 SW Hunziker Rd, Ste 103, Portland, OR 97223. Or call us at: 503-228-5108. THANK YOU!
First time in his life to be out of his wheelchair and out on the water, enjoying the beauty of Oregon and the great outdoors at the Easterseals Oregon Summer Camp,
all thanks to your generosity. Thank you for bringing joy and happiness to so many,