NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
A9
Mother, grown son navigate homelessness
By BRIAN RATHBONE
The Bulletin
BEND — Bonnie Jenkins
and her son, Richard Ostland,
along with their two dogs and
a cat, have been mainstays at
the Bend Emergency Shelter
run by the Shepherd’s House
Ministries since January.
They are navigating the
turbulent waters of being
homeless for the fi rst time in
their lives.
“This is all new for us,”
said Jenkins, 65. “Be thank-
ful for what you do (have)
and don’t take anything for
granted.”
For nearly 30 years, Jen-
kins and Ostland rented the
same house in Prineville. It
was stable living. But when
Jenkins’ husband, Donald,
passed away due to throat can-
cer last November, the once
cordial relationship with their
landlord took a turn for the
worse.
Jenkins recalls multiple
conversations about buying
the two and a half acre prop-
erty in Prineville, but the deal
fell through each time. The
rent the Jenkinses were pay-
ing went from $700 to $850,
but is now being rented for
more than $2,500 a month
after some renovations, Jen-
kins said.
“He was nice until my hus-
band passed away,” Jenkins
said. “Then it got really hairy
for a while. It was horrible the
last year that we lived there.”
By December, shortly after
her husband’s passing, they
were out of the house they
called home for decades and
started living in their 2004
Chevy Trailblazer and uncer-
tain of what was coming next.
For a family who rarely had to
worry about money, suddenly
not having anything was an
eye-opener.
“It isn’t fun being home-
less,” said Ostland, 43. “There
are a bunch of twists and turns
and people look at you a lot
diff erently.”
Meanwhile, Jenkins, who
uses an oxygen machine
to help with her breathing,
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
Bonnie Jenkins and her son, Richard Ostland, along with their two dogs and a cat are staying at the
Shepherd’s House Ministries Homeless Shelter in Bend.
became sick with pneumonia
and was having to take multi-
ple trips to the hospital.
“We burned through a lot
of gas,” Jenkins said. “We
got snowed on for three days
straight. If I hadn’t forced us
to get up and move, we would
have gone to sleep and never
woke up. That is how frozen
we were. My brain was so fro-
zen I couldn’t think, I couldn’t
do anything.
“It was very, very scary,”
Jenkins continued. “I had no
idea what I was doing. When
you come down to nothing, it
is very humbling.”
In the start of a new year,
Jenkins and Ostland found
Shepherd’s House Ministries, a
nonprofi t serving Central Ore-
gon that serves the homeless
community with an emergency
shelter, food and supplies.
According to its website,
the Shepherd’s House Minis-
tries exists to “love people well
by creating environments of
grace where people are com-
pletely accepted for who they
are and given the opportu-
nity to embrace signifi cant life
change at a pace that is in their
own best interest.”
In the Bend Emergency
Shelter, Jenkins and Ostland
have a small section with a pair
of cots and enough room for
O utlook
SENI
R
Prairie City -- This
day was designated
by somebody as
World Elder Abuse
Awareness Day and
to show support you
Rose Coombs
were to wear purple.
So we did. And for
those who did not
have a purple article of clothing, we were supplied with a little
purple ribbon. And placemats. And an information sheet. And
even a bingo game. ... Whew. So we are now informed.
Tom said he could not find any famous people who were born
on this day. So he took the week from June 9 though June 13
and found four: Cole Porter, Jacques Cousteau, Judy Garland
and Anne Frank. This was also the week that the film “ET” was
released. (Forgot to note the year —oops!) Anyhow, the question
of which table got to go first through the serving line ended up
being Tom’s choice because no one could answer the question.
And it was a doozy of a question! To wit: What song that was
written by Cole Porter did Judy Garland sing? Duh. ... No, it
wasn’t “Over the Rainbow.” That was written by E.Y. Harburg
and Harold Arlen. So ask Siri or Alexa ... and let me know!
We had a short board meeting before dinner before all the
members scattered to the four winds for the rest of the month.
It’s so nice to have leadership that is united in the goals and
purposes of the center. Doesn’t take long to have a meeting that
way! Then we can get down to the serious business of eating.
Ahem.
Prairie City
Seniors
And did we eat! A huge serving of enchilada, three-bean salad,
chips and salsa. For dessert, we were served an eclair icebox cake.
Mmmm, was it ever good! Helped to take away the “hotness”
of the spices in the enchilada. Cooks Pam and Pam do good,
dontcha know!
Our volunteer helpers today included Mary, Carla, Gwynne,
Carlos, Chris, Theresa, Josiah, Pam and Tom. They all do an
excellent job of delivering, registering and cleaning up. Thanks
so much. And thanks to all of you who come to eat with us or
pick up a meal to take home. People are returning to the idea
that it’s OK to sit and visit after the meal. Yes! That’s what we are
here for. The chimney project is just about finished. Then comes
the installation of the new sump pump. Sounds just like home
ownership, doesn’t it? One thing after another ...
The rain stopped long enough that I could finally get most of
the garden planted. Mercy! Hope the next round of showers
doesn’t wash the seeds away! The peonies that I put in two years
ago bloomed this year. Then the rain washed the blossoms
all away. The transplanted hollyhocks are going great guns.
Whoopee! Now if I could just get the nice morning glory vines to
grow and crowd out the weedy ones. ... Meanwhile, the surprise
pansies are just bloomin’ all over the place! Gathered them into
one 2-foot-square area of the garden. At least something is happy
growing there! And that makes me happy, too.
Romans 16:19 ... so I am full of joy over you.
Psalms 96:12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.
John Day -- On
Thursday,
June 23,
John Day
our menu is chicken
Seniors
lasagna, spinach
salad and Cherry
DeLite for dessert,
Elise Huskey
and then on Monday,
June 27, we will
have hot ham and cheese sandwiches, tater tots, a relish tray and
banana pudding for dessert. Our cooks do a great job to serve us
delightful meals. Thanks, Shay and Kim.
Monday we delivered over 20 frozen and over 20 fresh meals
into our community. This is the greatest thing we do so far.
Those folks cannot get out to pick up meals or are ill at the time,
so this is so important and many of us are grateful for all our
delivery drivers. Due to a busy schedule today, the information I
need about drivers and servers and the number of in-house diners
got left behind, so I sit here depending on my memory, which is
not so trustworthy.
Thursday, we had 20-some in-house diners. That was our largest
crowd since we reopened after COVID. So many faces we see
and know that are doing OK, and it is so good to see them and
hear their voices and they can see we are doing OK, too. This
togetherness is a load off our backs. It was a great day to be able
to greet everyone. Several people picked up to-go meals, and
around 26 fresh meals were delivered.
By the time you read this our annual hall board meeting will be
over, so next week you will read about the details of that meeting.
Pokeno will be each Monday and Friday here at the senior
center at 1 p.m. Bingo is closed for the summer and will resume
the first Thursday of September.
Grant county has had an uptick of COVID-19 cases. How sad
that is. We want to see people heathy and free to do things they
love to do. No more sickness in Grant County, ya hear? Ha. On
a serious note, there are three new variants of COVID, so please
take care of yourself and everyone around you.
It seems the ‘62 Days celebration was a success. My favorite was
the parade. (That’s the child in me, ha.)
Our library is beautiful and full of books and jigsaw puzzles and
is open every day we are open for lunch. Mondays and Fridays
from 11 to 1 you can enjoy finding a book or puzzle, and you
can return them if you like. There is a box near the entrance
of the library to place them in. It seems the information about
the library opening was incorrect last time, so this is the correct
information.
Today was our first warm day with clear skies so that’s a clue
that summer is happening. Let’s all enjoy this summer. Fall will
come soon enough.
There is more information to put here, but it will have to wait
till next week when all the information comes home with me, ha.
Have a great week, everyone.
Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest
in the shadow of the Almighty. (Good News)
Monument -- Have
we been blessed here
in Grant County,
Oregon, or what?
All over the nation,
there are reports of
drought — in fact,
Soo Yukawa
severe drought! Yet we
have been receiving
rain, tons of rain. I praise the Lord for that! He gets all the credit!
I did not know that there was such drought going on in many
parts of our nation. I don’t buy into that global warming stuff,
either, because we had 35 degrees F. a few early morning times in
June!
We have been getting so much rain here that folks can’t cut
their hay to dry and bale it. Our grass and weeds are very tall. My
goats can’t eat it down fast enough. Hmm, what to do? I guess I
gotta get going on some weed-whacking! Ha.
Our cooks Carrie Jewell and Cindy Jewell, along with young
Olivia Jewell, prepared for us sheet pan nachos! Yes, we had all
the fixings to go with our nachos, corn salad, and strawberry fruit
tart with optional whipped cream. You betcha that I gobbled
down that food in a hurry. It was a good and hearty meal and we
thank our cooks very much and appreciate them so much.
Our greeters at the table were Krisiti Guimont and Bob
Cockrell. They checked in the guests and Kristi collected and
counted up the money. Bob led us in the flag salute and also
made the announcements. Yours truly prayed the blessing over
the meal.
Don’t forget that our Monument Jubilee event will be going
on on July 3 and not the Fourth. Our Monument Senior Center
will also be having the annual rummage sale too on the 2nd and
3rd of July. So prepare to go through all the stuff and find that
“special treat.”
Prayers are needed for Terry Cade and her husband. Terry’s
husband is not doing well. But our God is powerful to answer
when we cry out to Him. All we need is faith. The Bible says that
faith as tiny as a mustard seed can move mountains. I am praying
for healing, strength to endure, and for the Name of Jesus to be
glorified, hallelujah!
My hubby wanted for our whole family to go for a walk, so I
decided to have Belle and Leah go with us. They did pretty well.
They followed us and did not try to stray away. So, all six of my
bottle babies will follow me wherever I go — well, most of the
time anyway. Ha. I am their mama and, for the most part, they
keep an eye on me and won’t stray very far from my sight.
Shay and Kiki are growing so fast now! Kiki is almost as big as
Shay and she is very attached to me. She tries to jump onto my
lap every chance she gets. It may be cute now, but not when she
weighs 30 pounds or more later! I really hope they become good
mamas that I can milk later.
Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee
great and mighty things which thou knowest not.
Monument
Seniors
some personal belongings. But
the space, limited as it may be,
was a blessing.
“They brought us in out of
the weather, gave us a warm
bed with blankets, allowed our
animals to come in,” Jenkins
said. “They went out of their
way to help us out as much as
they could. It is a family situa-
tion here, everyone gets along
with everybody.”
And the Shepherd’s House
Ministries has helped Jenkins
and Ostland get back on their
feet, and soon they will be back
in their own place once again.
Through EPIC Property
Management, they were able to
get near the top of the waiting
list for aff ordable housing built
by Housing Works, which pro-
vides new beginnings for low-
and moderate-income Central
Oregonians.
Now, they are just waiting
for the housing to be fi nished
being built. By the end of July,
they should be back living on
their own.
“You get your privacy back,
our own rooms,” Jenkins said.
“They did not have to do this
for the homeless, but they did.”
We offer a wide range of primary
care and medical treatment.
Zachary Bailey, MD • David Hall, MD • Raffaella Betza, MD
Zachary Bailey, MD • Janessa Sickler, DO • Emily Lieuallen, DO
• Janessa
DO • Emily
DO
James Cook,
FNP • Sickler,
Erika Adams,
FNP-C Lieuallen,
• Caitlin MacCoun,
MD
• Nora Jennings,
Healey, FNP
Clark, DNP
Brian
MD • Shawna
Robyn Jennings,
MD
Available Monday - Friday
180 Ford Road, John Day • 541-575-0404
Huffman’s
SELECT
MARKETS
Quality Healthcare ...close to home.
170 Ford Road
John Day
541-575-1311
112 E. 5th
Prairie City
541-820-3341
422 W. Main, 1st floor • John Day
If you have any questions or think you
know of someone who might benefit,
call: 541 575.1648
241 S. Canyon Blvd. John Day • 541-575-0529
T roy Hanson - Funeral Director