Safe sleep is survival. Blanchet House opens Bethanie’s Room to offer dignity and safety for homeless women in crisis.
By Scott Kerman, Executive Director
Every day at Blanchet House, we fulfill our mission to “alleviate suffering” in the simplest and most direct way by serving meals. A person arrives hungry and leaves nourished. That moment of care may not solve poverty, but it matters. It is a moral good.
Yet too often, I hear a dismissive critique of efforts like this: “That’s just a Band-Aid.”
But what’s wrong with a Band-Aid? A Band-Aid doesn’t heal the wound entirely, but it protects, comforts, and communicates something deeply human: You matter. I see you. I want to help.
That’s exactly the spirit behind our newest program, Bethanie’s Room, an emergency overnight shelter for women in NW Portland.
We named it in memory of Bethanie, a longtime guest at our free Café, who was killed in a hit-and-run last August, just after midnight. Tragically, her story is not unique. Many unsheltered women in our community have died violently, and countless others endure nightly assaults, theft, and fear.
Bethanie’s Room will not offer all the services of a 24-hour care facility or permanent housing. But there will be safety. Here, women can lay down their belongings without fear. They can close their eyes without having to bargain their safety for protection.
It will be warm. It will be dry.
And they can sleep.
Safe sleep is more than comfort. It is survival. After nights of exhaustion and terror, rest is the first step toward healing and hope. It is also the foundation for accessing daytime services, whether at Blanchet House or other agencies. If someone arrives too tired or traumatized to engage, even the best programs cannot provide full assistance.
We must stop treating the alleviation of present suffering as somehow less important than long-term solutions. Full-scale, 24/7 residences can take years and millions of dollars to build. Meanwhile, there is suffering happening tonight.
If we truly pride ourselves on being a compassionate city, we should celebrate the moral good of providing safety in the dark—and feel moral outrage when we don’t.
Not acting should keep us up at night.
We need your help to provide women with a safe place to sleep. Please consider donating to support Bethanie’s Room Women’s Shelter here. It is privately funded by compassionate people like you.
