2024 Projects 

Olson Project
November 10 in SW Portland 

 

45093369384ccaea0e94azMs. Olson is a single 54-year-old lady who lives alone in her home.  She lost her job a few years ago, and has been engaged in a legal battle with her former employer for wrongful termination.  Her only source of income is her Social Security disability, and SNAP benefits. She supplements this from a Home Equity Line of Credit, which kicks-in when her checking balance goes below zero. In the past couple of years, she has struggled to make ends meet and has had difficulty with the upkeep on her home. She employed an unlicensed handyman to do some repairs/remodeling on her home, paid him in advance, and ended-up with poor and incomplete work....which left her with several messes she didn't know how to fix or finish.  There were no large or complex jobs for our project, mostly a bunch of minor miscellaneous repairs, hanging some cabinets, cleaning and organizing, and debris removal.  

After this string of misfortune, she was in a very vulnerable and fragile state, and really needed a loving group of volunteers to rally around her to help bring her home back into order.  We partnered with West Portland United Methodist Church to give Ms. Olson the hand-up that she needed to make a new start, and she was super thankful for their amazing help. 

Project Advocate: Christy Dirren
Crew Chief: Will Whiteman