Support Bethanie’s Room
Safe Rest for Women
Give women and gender expansive people a safe place to lay their heads.
About Bethanie’s Room Women’s Shelter
Bethanie’s Room is an overnight emergency shelter for women and gender-expansive people, providing safety and support for individuals 18 years or older in Portland. Funded entirely by private donors, the shelter is owned and operated by Blanchet House. The shelter can accommodate up to 75 guests per night.
- Hours: 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.
- Intake Process: Line up in the parking lot from 7-8 p.m. for intake, which begins at 8 p.m. Our neighborhood agreement limits congregating prior to 7 p.m.
- Address: 1015 NW 17th Ave, Portland, OR, at the corner of Lovejoy St.
- Contact: Leave a voicemail at 971-358-7774; email bethaniesroom@blanchethouse.org
- Security: Yes
- Peer Support: Yes
- Pets Allowed: Yes (Pets must be well-behaved and must stay with the owner.)
Volunteer Opportunities
Donate Food
Provide light breakfast items and shelf-stable evening snacks for women staying at our overnight shelter. Sign up
Staff Support Volunteers
Morning Shelter Support (7-9 a.m.) Assist guests as they prepare to leave for the day, help with light cleaning, and strip beds. Must be 18+. Sign up
Evening Shelter Support (5:30-7:30 p.m.) Greet donors, receive and organize clothing and food donations, assist with receipts, and help with opening tasks such as making beds. Sign up
Clothing and Supplies
Because storage is VERY limited, (NO DRESS CLOTHES, PLEASE) we can only accept the most requested items, which currently are:
- NEW Underwear and bras
- Sweatpants and sweatshirts
- Sneakers and outdoor shoes (NO HEELS OR DRESS SHOES)
- Waterproof coats
- Hygiene supplies: Incontinence items and body wipes.
Drop off new or gently used items at 1015 NW 17th St. on Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Volunteer Questions or Suggestions
For questions about donating or volunteering, leave a voicemail at 971-358-7774 or email bethaniesroom@blanchethouse.org.
Blanchet’s Vision for Change
In response to the growing need for safe, dignified shelter for women experiencing homelessness, Blanchet House opened Bethanie’s Room on Feb. 9, 2026. This dedicated overnight shelter was created to provide women with a place to rest, feel secure, and begin rebuilding their lives.
Made possible entirely through the generosity of private donors, foundations, and businesses, Bethanie’s Room receives no government funding. Every aspect of the shelter was thoughtfully designed to support healing, safety, and dignity.
Working with trauma-informed interior designers at Oui Design, the space incorporates features that help guests feel calm and comfortable. Renovations included expanding the guest bathrooms from two to five, each equipped with an emergency light and alarm system, adding outdoor handwashing stations, installing adjustable lighting that creates a softer, more peaceful environment, and incorporating a sound-masking system to enhance privacy. Fresh paint, murals, and secure guest storage further contribute to a welcoming space where women can rest with dignity.
The shelter provides:
- A Safe Haven: A secure and welcoming space accommodating up to 75 women each night.
- Essential Resources: Food, hygiene supplies, bathrooms, and a supportive atmosphere to ensure safety and compassion.
- Pathways to Stability: Partnerships with peer organizations to connect women with healthcare, counseling, and housing opportunities.
Community Engagement
Blanchet House is committed to fostering a safe, welcoming environment and works closely with neighbors and the City of Portland to support a positive experience for everyone.
Bethanie’s Room is privately operated by Blanchet House and funded by compassionate donors. While the City of Portland and Multnomah County are supportive, they are not involved in the funding or operations of this shelter.
- Read our Neighborhood Pledge and find answers to questions about safety and livability below.
We want our community to feel proud of what we’re building—a model shelter that is safe, respectful, and well-managed, inside and out. For timely responses, please direct questions to bethaniesroom@blanchethouse.org.
About Bethanie
Bethanie’s Room is named in memory of a beloved guest who struggled with mental health and lost her life while unhoused in 2024. At the time, there were no overnight emergency women’s shelters in NW Portland. Her family remembers her as an artist, singer, and musician with a degree in music therapy. Our community hopes to honor her legacy by providing safe, supportive shelter to prevent women from being forced to sleep outside, in harm’s way.
“We always thought she would change the world until she ended up with a traumatic brain injury,” wrote Bethanie’s mom, Shelley.
Bethanie struggled with mental health and homelessness, but her parents remember her as a smart and ambitious musician. They shared a list she had written as a teenager, dreaming of her future.
50 Things I’d Like to Do Before I Die (By Bethanie, Jan. 8, 1997)
- Travel around Europe
- Play piano for a Broadway musical
- Become wealthy enough to send my parents on a cruise
- Own a silver trumpet
- Volunteer at 10 shelters for the homeless
- Give a large sum of money to an organization helping the poor, disabled, and/or mortally diseased
- Go to the Olympics
- Get married to someone who shares many of my same interests and philosophies
- Go on a submarine in the Pacific
- Sing the national anthem at a baseball game
We share this list with you to remind us that the women we serve aren’t so different from those we know. They deserve a safe place to sleep and the chance to live with dignity.
Meet the Director of Bethanie’s Room
Shelly Bancroft, Director of Bethanie’s Room women’s shelter, brings extensive experience in shelter management to the role.“It is an honor to be part of a team addressing the incredible need to shelter unhoused women and to partner with organizations to help them obtain resources. “If not now, then when?” shares Shelly.
You can contact Shelly by leaving a voicemail at 971-358-7774 or emailing bethaniesroom@blanchethouse.org. Messages are answered promptly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Neighborhood Livability, Safety, and Accountability
Our Neighborhood Pledge
Bethanie’s Room Neighborhood Pledge
This is our commitment to being thoughtful, responsible neighbors
At Blanchet House, we believe a safe, healthy, and welcoming neighborhood benefits everyone, including our shelter guests, neighbors, and nearby businesses. We are committed to fostering mutual respect and doing our part to ensure a positive experience for all.
To that end, Blanchet House will:
- Help create a sense of safety, hospitality, and shared pride in our neighborhood.
- Take responsibility to keep the area around our property clean and free of trash and litter.
- Promptly report any livability concerns to the City of Portland and work with city partners and Portland Street Response to address them in a timely and effective way.
- Employ private security personnel to help maintain a calm, safe, and respectful environment inside and around the shelter.
- Report criminal or suspicious activity to the Portland Police Bureau as appropriate.
- Connect our shelter guests, by name, to partner agencies that provide wraparound services and access to daytime resources.
- Make it easy for neighbors to contact us by providing a dedicated email and phone contact for shelter-related communication.
- Take part in neighborhood meetings to listen, learn, and respond to concerns.
- Set clear expectations for guests around respectful behavior, including understanding that surrounding properties are private and should not be accessed without permission.
- Manage queuing and smoking within the shelter’s fenced and gated parking lot to minimize sidewalk congestion.
- Keep the shelter property closed to guests outside of operating hours, including intake periods, to support neighborhood quiet and safety.
- Be open to new ideas and practices to promote a healthy neighborhood experience.
We look forward to being a collaborative, respectful, and responsible member of the neighborhood, and we welcome your ideas, feedback, and partnership.
We’re committed to being good neighbors
- Our team will work closely with the city, local law enforcement, and outreach providers to keep the area around the shelter clean, safe, and walkable.
- By offering people a safe place to sleep, we lessen the need for tents and makeshift camps on sidewalks and in public spaces.
- We will clearly communicate rules and expectations to guests. This includes curfews, safety protocols, and a zero-tolerance policy for unsafe behavior.
- We will provide a Shelter Guest Agreement for our guests that outlines expectations and promotes respect for the surrounding community.
- Our staff walk the block multiple times per night in safety vests to keep sidewalks free of litter and engage with people who may need support.
- Bethanie’s Room will transform a long-vacant building into a staffed, well-managed space with consistent oversight.
How will Blanchet House ensure that people will not camp on the sidewalks around the shelter?
The City of Portland and Mayor Wilson have committed to establishing an Engagement Zone around Bethanie’s Room. Blanchet House will partner with the city to actively monitor and manage the area around the shelter. Together, we will work to keep the surrounding sidewalks clean, safe, and accessible by quickly addressing camping and walking hazards with compassion and consistency. While Bethanie’s Room is not a city-run shelter, we will partner with Portland’s outreach teams and shelter program staff.
What security measures will be in place?
Blanchet House will contract with a private security firm. We have partnered with Echelon at Blanchet House’s Old Town location for four years and are confident in their responsiveness and respectful engagement with guests. We will also coordinate with the Mayor’s Office and Portland Police to ensure that emergency 911 calls are prioritized. Security and safety are top priorities for our shelter guests, staff, and neighbors. We will continuously evaluate and adjust our security measures as needed.
Who can we contact when we have a concern or question about the shelter?
- We are committed to listening to community concerns and addressing them thoughtfully. We value feedback and are investing in long-term, collaborative relationships with our neighbors.
- Once a neighborhood advisory committee is established with Blanchet House and neighborhood representation, this committee will be an important avenue for communication, feedback, and problem-solving.
- Blanchet House will participate in neighborhood stakeholder meetings facilitated by the City of Portland. Blanchet House will also attend NW Neighborhood Association meetings as a member of the neighborhood.
- We have established a dedicated email for communications about Bethanie’s Room: bethaniesroom@blanchethouse.org. You can also leave a voicemail at 971-358-7774 or email bethaniesroom@blanchethouse.org. Messages are answered promptly by Shelter Director Shelly Bancroft.
