A Local Shelter Making A Difference

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    Vikkilyn Rolfs is the director of childcare services at Open House Ministries for nineteen Years. Open House Ministries is a local family shelter founded by Bob and Joanne Kendall. Rolfs, first got connected to Open House through the former director whom she previously worked with at a different daycare center. Before Open House Ministries, Vikkilyn, worked at a homeless shelter for ten years in Washington DC, which was a men’s shelter. Rolfs has seen and experienced different kinds of living situations among the homeless in the Portland Metro Area. 

    “In your opinion what do you think of the homeless crises today in Portland Oregon including Vancouver Washington?” Vikkilyn states, “it’s gotten very much out of hand, it’s gotten tragic! I think that there is a whole mix of people under different circumstance. There’s definitely a lot of drugs, a lot of mental health, which could be mental health or could be drug induce mental health.”  Rolfs continues her thoughts on the cost of living, “the economy is so bad, if people miss a paycheck, they get evicted, rent is high and paychecks are low, which puts people where they can only afford to be, car or a tent on the streets. Those are whom I am concern for the most because they have their children living in these conditions”. 

     You work closely with families and see their daily struggles; how has Open House changed their lives? “Oh Man, how long is this interview, well, I watch them come in broken and scared and angary then I watch most of them leave completely whole. We provide so many tools for them, classes, like we give them a toolbox for life”. Open House Ministries offers array of classes, financial, parenting, grief share, G.E.D. and more!  These classes are designed to create stability in their lives. Open House Miniseries is unique because most shelters are thirty days at the most and Open House Miniseries is a yearlong shelter. This is a yearlong opportunity to stay  to give families time to build independence in their lives again.



    Open House Ministries creates opportunities for families to transition from the shelter back into the real world, through transitional housing. Open House has created apartment style living with affordable rent to help create a rental history for each family as they step towards independent living. Each family is required to work, to maintain a job in order to pay rent each month. They are allowed to stay in transitional housing for up to two years. 

    Currently, they are building a new modern apartment with thirty industrial apartments, with new shops and businesses. Open House has three different shops they operate, a bike shop, a thrift store and a coffee shop. If residents have a difficult time finding employment, Open House will give their residents the opportunity for employment through their shops. 

       In Closing, Rolfs states, “I don’t know what the answer is, but there is a lot to be done.”
Rolfs, believes the biggest positive move for change would be affordable housing. 
Rolfs, “There are homeless that really don’t want to be, they don’t do drugs, they don’t have 
mental health issues they just have no choice.” She believes that each person can do something even if they’re just one person. Although Rolfs doesn’t believe the home crises will end in Portland, she believes each person can help big or small.




Cited Sources

Rolfs Vikkilyn, Open House Ministeries.org, https://www.sheltered.org

Attention: The Portland State University senior capstone for multimedia would love to hear from you. If you have the time, please click here to fill out a survey about your experience with housing.

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