Five families struggling with homelessness will soon have stability thanks to Sheila’s Dream, a new expansion to St. Francis’ transitional housing.
The expansion opened last week at the south Salem complex, bringing their total to 25 apartments. They’ll provide a place for families to stay, save money and get connected to resources before they move into permanent housing.
Over a decade ago, Kim Lemman spoke at an event to share the work of St. Francis Family Housing, back when she was the only staff person leading a team of volunteers.
At the end of the talk, one of the audience members approached her and changed the course of the organization forever.
“She walked up to me and she goes, ‘My name’s Sheila, and I’m going to help you. Because you need help,’” Lemman said, laughing. “And I thought that was super sweet, but I don’t think any of us understood the impact of Sheila becoming a volunteer with us.”
The organization held a ribbon cutting for the five-apartment expansion July 31, and the first family moved in the next day.
The new building’s namesake, Sheila Harrison, was a longtime volunteer who began hosting the annual “Saddle Up” event at her family ranch over a decade ago to raise funds for the organization’s mission of helping homeless families in Marion and Polk Counties.
When Harrison died in 2021, Lemman said planting a tree or putting up a plaque didn’t feel like the right way to honor her.
St. Francis had two dilapidated houses on their property, adjacent to their longstanding 20-unit apartments on the corner of Southeast Howard and Berry streets. The houses weren’t habitable and were being used for storage, Lemman said.
Harrison had often commented on the state of them, saying they should do something about it.
“And I was like, ‘Well, you’re right. But how?’” Lemman said of her inquiries.
But when Harrison died, the idea came back to Lemman as a way to honor her friend. So, she reached out to Harrison’s family, asking how they’d feel about tearing down the houses and replacing them with apartments for families in need.
Harrison’s husband Kenneth, owner of Harrison Industries which is in the business of building apartments, called Lemman a few days later. He not only supported the idea, but had gathered local contractors to donate materials and work to the project. Their donations kept the cost of the building at $1.2 million. Private donations covered the construction cost. An additional $300,000 raised for the effort will go toward operations, Lemman said.
Last August, they tore down the houses. Less than a year later, they’re fully furnished and ready to welcome families in the coming weeks.
The apartments will serve families with children who are experiencing homelessness. Often, they come from the Center for Hope and Safety, or were recently reunited from foster care in family court or through recovery programs.
Families typically stay for between six months to a year.
While there, they don’t pay rent. Instead, they make a mandatory monthly payment toward a savings program. The amount is on a sliding scale based on their income. That money goes into a trust that they get when they move out.
Jill Tucker, who manages operations at St. Francis, said they treat it like rent. A local donor also provides a $500 match for the family accounts.
“Due on the first, late on the fifth. Just to get them into the cycle that they have this due. It creates the expectation that ‘Oh yeah, I need to set that aside.’” she said. “It’s a good place to start with the fewest repercussions.”
The apartments are designed to fit right into the neighborhood. From the outside, St. Francis looks like any other apartment building, without obvious signs to set it apart as transitional housing.
In them, St. Francis provides intensive case management to navigate housing services and life-skills focusing on long-term stabilization. They also host visits from county addiction services, parole and probation, the Department of Human Services, Family Building Blocks and other services.
Over 90% of families who stay at the apartments move out into permanent housing, according to St. Francis. Since its founding in 1987, they’ve helped over 1,000 families move into a stable home.
The new units at Sheila’s Dream have stylish modern furniture, art on the walls and big windows letting in natural light. Kenneth Harrison guided the work, including the decision to use durable granite countertops which he could get a discount on, Lemman said.
Lemman’s especially excited about the kitchens, which will allow kids to do homework at the counter’s bar seating while parents cook in the kitchen. St. Francis also provides crock pots and cooking classes, which she said have been a lot of fun.
She said a child at the apartments once told her that those meals mean so much more than just dinner.
“You can’t be in crisis and use a crock pot. If we’re using a crock pot, we’re thinking ahead, we’ve gotten groceries, we’ve planned a meal, we’ve put that in in the morning,” Lemman said. “It means someone has been able to take a breath. She’s been able to get her mind out of crisis and into the day.”
Sometimes, people need a helping hand to learn how to use a Swiffer, or a playground chat about how to calm unruly kids down. Lemman’s happy to do it, and an organizational mantra is that they meet people where they’re at.
With dozens of local businesses and people contributing, Lemman said Sheila’s Dream is a community building.
On Sept. 15, the Harrison family’s ranch, Crystal Springs Ranch, will host its 12th Saddle Up fundraiser. Lemman said she never could have predicted how one meeting over a decade ago would change the trajectory of so many lives.
She said they met their fundraising goal for the project last year on the anniversary of Harrison’s death.
“It was like, wow. Message received. Thank you, Sheila,” Lemman said. “It really does feel like it was meant to be, and supposed to be. And here it is.”
Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251.
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Abbey McDonald joined the Salem Reporter in 2022. She previously worked as the business reporter at The Astorian, where she covered labor issues, health care and social services. A University of Oregon grad, she has also reported for the Malheur Enterprise, The News-Review and Willamette Week.
