CAREERS
Edition
Number 20
‘City 0/Roses’
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w w w .portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • May 22, 2013
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Established in 1970 _
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photo by
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~ commumtv service
D onovan M .S mith /T he P ortland O bserver
Megan Kidd, director o f the Salvation Army s new emergency women S shelter, and Sonja Hultsman, the shelter's business manager, welcome guests and clients to
the mission s new downtown resource dedicated solely to women.
New Shelter, New Hope
Advocates grow
emergency services
for women
by D onovan M . S mith
T he P ortland O bserver
With a new building just blocks away from the old one,
both residents and staff of the Salvation Arm y’s downtown
wom en’s emergency shelter are hoping for a fresh start.
The shelter is the only such facility in Portland dedicated
solely to women. A high demand means that the waiting list
is never without the names of at least 100 women seeking
assistance. A larger space will allow the Salvation Army to
increase basic services like hot showers, bathrooms, and
resting places.
Shelter director Megan Kidd said staff tried to overcome
obstacles at the old facility, but the site proved to have too
many barriers.
“It was too small, we didn't have the capacity for the
services we need to provide the community,” Kidd said.
The new facility provides a much greater ability to meet
the needs of future and current clients. Upgrades include a
brand new commercial washer and dryer versus the residen­
tial machines the shelter had been using to clean hundreds
of women’s wardrobes each month.
The seemingly minor improvements are one of the many
things that keep the new shelter’s small nine-person staff
grateful, saving them valuable time to act as advocates for
current clients and those on the wait lists.
Even with the move, the shelter’s dorm program will
continue to make available a maximum of 50 beds. The
Salvation Army’s ultimate goal is to reduce people’s need
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