If you’re walking in southwest Portland past first Presbyterian Church, you may not notice the small storefront across the street. It’s a blank gray wall with a door and a small sign hanging above the door frame. That unassuming door leads to Julia West house . . . and for some, a better life. Efforts to help the homeless at First Presbyterian began years ago, handing out food boxes in the basement. But over the years, the operation has expanded . . . eventually moving into that small gray building one street over. “We try to do the things the shelters don’t do,” says Marvin Mitchell with West House. The cramped three story building doesn’t offer three square meals a day nor does it offer beds on which to spend the night. Instead, Mitchell describes it more as a living room for the city. Chairs and tables to sit and hang out . . . . space for classes and work shops and other daily activities. But it’s more than a living room . . . one of the biggest complaints I’ve heard in my experience covering issues with the homeless is that many WANT to work . . . but without a permanent address, a place to clean up or even a place to write out a simple resume the job hunt is next to impossible. Julia West House provides ALL those things to its visitors. In the front door and out on the ground floor patio, dozens of people sit and swap stories, grab a cup of free coffee, and generally have a place to go during the day if they don’t have a home. The ground floor is ALSO home to one of the building’s two showers and a brand new water heater (thanks to a donation by the city, the facility replaced its OLD heater that would usually provide enough hot water for three showers in the morning with a NEW heater that lasts all day). In order to land one of the prime shower times, guests pitch in around the facility cleaning or doing other odd jobs. Climb up the first tight staircase and you come to the computer lab and classrooms. Visitors can take workshops in general life skills including tips on how to find a job. There is ALWAYS a line for one of the few laptop computers available for visitor use . . . Mitchell tells me it’s a regular thing for guests to find a job on Craigslist.com with their time in the cramped lab. His guests are NOT looking for a handout . . . they WANT to work . . . it is just a struggle finding it in their situation. Cut through the computer lab and you’ll find the second house shower . . . then climb another tight staircase to the third floor which holds some administrative office space and store rooms PACKED with clothing donated to the facility (also sleeping bags and blankets for when winter time rolls around). Mitchell says the house is open to anyone who wants to come for the day-time drop in or evening hours . . . there are only two rules: 1. No one visibly intoxicated 2. Everyone must be respectful of everyone else It’s a small, unassuming, tight space that many of us might completely ignore on our daily commute through the city . . . but inside, lives change for the better everyday.

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