vendor profile
Saoirse-Seersha Bell
BY LEONORA KO
S T A F F W R IT E R
aoirse-Seersha Bell is turning 60 and
getting her life back, as an author, as a
social activist and as a recent subject
of a bikini photo shoot.
“We’re all late bloomers in my family,”
Saoirse said with a laugh.
Her mother, who self-published 32 books
after the age of 60, has inspired Saoirse to
self-publish her own life story. Saoirse has
nearly finished her book, which describes
how she used diet and supplements to lose
175 pounds and treat her bipolar disorder.
T m completely open about my
diagnosis,” Saoirse
said.
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Street Roots • May 5-11,2017
Vendors
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and causes
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Almost 6 million Americans j l \
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are affected.
For Saoirse, the effect of
the disorder was dramatic.
During the 1990s, Saoirse was active in
local politics in Boulder, Colo. She was
elected to two American Civil Liberties
Union boards, volunteered for two city
council campaigns and ran for city council in
1997.
In 1998, her husband died unexpectedly,
and she went over an edge she didn’t know
was there.
“I had a manic episode (at my job),” she
said. “Thev didn’t know what to do with me.
Sheeptoast
and I didn’t know what to do with me. I
couldn’t stop talking.”
After losing her job, she couldn’t pay the
rent, and things went down from there
“To go from the middle class and directly
into joblessness, homelessness, poverty - it
wasn’t a gradual decline; it was a sudden
fall,” she said.
She and her young son moved through
the Boulder homeless shelter system.
When some inheritance money came
through, Saoirse and her son moved to
Portland. With this boost, she thought she
could recover her life. But she was unable
to work, the money ran out, and they were
back on the street.
In 2005,1 went to the Salvation Army
Female
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Shelter and was
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.
one of 32
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couldn’t have been better. It was the first
time that SAFES partnered with the city of
Portland for a program to place all of the
women into transitional housing.”
Things fell into place after that. Saoirse
got medical help and was diagnosed with
bipolar disorder. After seven years of
homelessness, she qualified for disability
housing, where she has lived for 11 years.
But Saoirse said that for her, the side
effects of the bipolar disorder medications
were severe. She ballooned to 300 pounds
and had to use a walker. By this time, her
son was an adult and, worried about her,
started helping her out at home.
When her therapist suggested seeking
medical alternatives, Saoirse found a
naturopathic physician and hit the library to
research healthy solutions.
“I worked using discipline and
knowledge,” she said. “I threw everything I
had at it.”
Saoirse lost 175 pounds and is building
up her strength on her Street Roots job.
She sells papers at People’s Food Coop on
Southeast 21st Avenue and the Alberta
Food Coop on Northeast Alberta Street.
“I love being a Street Roots vendor, and
I’m proud of the organization,” she said.
“This is a job! This is a real job.”
Saoirse also believes she has regained
her voice.
“I know who I am,” she said. “I know
what I want to do. I know who I want to
help.”
To that end, she has resumed her social
activism and has already traveled to Salem
four times this year, lobbying for issues such
as the Right to Rest Act.
And her most recent bikini photos were
taken as “after pictures” to show her weight
loss for her upcoming book.
“My son shows those pictures to
everyone,” Saoirse said. “He is so proud of
me, and I can’t say how much that means.
He said this proves to him that anyone can
come back from the edge. Anyone.”
by Elizabeth Considine