Community Voice: Dena Compton

Dena Compton is a current resident at Rockwood Village Apartments, a 224-unit affordable housing development OHCS helped fund. Designed to support people with low incomes, Dena says Rockwood Village is like the first step and then somebody’s got you from there.

Before living at Rockwood, Dena had experienced homelessness after getting a wrongful eviction from her previous home when a main line sewer pipe burst under her apartment leading her to eventually living in her car. After a year and a half of experiencing homelessness, Dena’s friend helped connect her with Rockwood Village and after two years without a home of her own, Dena found one in Rockwood.

One of the best things about Rockwood Village, Dena says, is the community. There are people at the office who help you connect to resources and fill out forms, such as applying for rental assistance. There are food pantries that come every week so you can get what you need without having to figure out transportation. However, her favorite part is probably watching children running around and playing outside. She says you don’t see that often these days. However, Rockwood Village has been able to provide a space for kids and families to enjoy life outside and in community with their neighbors.

Throughout her life, Dena has had to undergo various challenges. On top of experiencing homelessness, she has grieved the loss of a child, is a survivor of domestic violence, and lives with a physical disability. Her children, a daughter and a son, give her the motivation to keep going and make progress. One can see the way her face lights up when talking about her children. Although her daughter is an adult now, she serves as a caretaker for her son who has several medical conditions, taking him to and from medical appointments and often encouraging him to play outside with the other kids. Dena and her son relocated to the Portland area due to her son’s medical requirements so they could be closer to the OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. With a stable home now, Dena feels confident in being able to provide him a safe space to learn, play, and grow.

Dena’s story highlights the struggles faced by many individuals experiencing homelessness and the transformative impact a stable home can have. Affordable housing developments such as Rockwood Village Apartments provides a solution to the housing affordability crisis and creates a community to help residents thrive. One thing Dena’s mother always said to her is that in life, you always need to be progressing. That’s exactly what Dena is doing.