Katie prepares breakfast for her and Joel. Finding Home. Photo © Mary Anne Funk
“We know what it’s like to be housed and have everything you need and a good income, but we also know what it is like to have absolutely nothing. It helps you to see both sides.” Katie Longanecker
Joel and Katie Longanecker are high school sweethearts. Together they have weathered many storms and come through them with continued optimism and resilience. In 2015, Joel and Katie became homeless after the house they were renting to own went into foreclosure when the landlord they trusted stopped paying the mortgage. Joel and Katie spent over 7 years in that house and they were never late on their payment.
They were meeting their agreement and then without notice, they received a letter from the bank that they had to vacate the premise because the house was under foreclosure. Although Joel and Katie had an agreement with the landlord, there was not a physical contract in place. They were forced to leave with no place to go except the streets. They lost all of their belongs and resources and because they were not able to provide a home for their son, he was taken away and put into foster care.
Over the course of the last three years, they have worked hard to find stability again. They went from living on the streets, to sleeping in someone’s back yard to moving into their own trailer through a sweat equity problem. This story begins with them living in someone’s backyard and follows them into their own trailer.
Joel adds tar paper to the outside of his shelter for weather proofing. Photo © 2016 Mary Anne Funk
With permission from the person they were staying with, Joel and Katie built a tiny dwelling off a small existing shed for them to have a place to sleep and to give them an area for a kitchen. They have accomplished so much in a short time and not only have they been working hard to overcome their hardships, they are helping others in need as well. They make meals and take them to other people who are homeless, they do laundry for members of a homeless community and they help several community organizations. They have very little yet they give so much. Over the last couple of years, Joel and Katie, through their personal community outreach and working with several advocacy groups, have built up relationships and a community network.
“Sometimes it’s just the little things that can bring so much joy such as watching my beloved Katie sleeping with her C-Pap warm and content last night. To me there was no better site! And if that was not enough, Katie made one awesome chili omelette with hash browns for breakfast on the skillet this morning! Between a warm night sleep and a hot breakfast there has been a spring in my step all day!” Joel Longanecker
In just two months, because of the security they had in being able to camp in someone’s backyard: Joel found two part time jobs, Katie was able to sleep safely, they were able to get visitation with their son and they are on their way to having him back at home with them.
“When you are moving all of the time, it puts your job in jeopardy and it gives you less time to do what is important to help.” Joel Longanecker
After a year of being houseless, Joel and Katie Longanecker found home through a program called RVs For Families.
Joel and Katie take time to have lunch in their trailer, made possible through Project 5 and RVs For Families. Photo © Mary Anne Funk
RVs For Families is focused on housing the most vulnerable families in the Portland metro area one family and one RV at a time. RVs For Families is working in conjunction with Advocacy5, a non profit organization in Portland, Oregon to make this a sustainable program.
RVs For Family founder Cindy Hines, above left, was taught at an early age, by parents who lead by example, that helping others was the right thing to do. “We all just need to support each other. We can’t do it on our own, we all need other people to make our lives work.” Cindy Hines
With the help of RVs For Families and Advocacy5, The Longaneckers have become the second recipients to receive a trailer that they will own after fulfilling a set amount of volunteer hours in an area they are most passionate about.
Joel and Katie have been volunteering their time caring for several houseless communities. This is something that Joel and Katie were already doing prior to being a part of the RVs For Family program, including when they were homeless as well.
Prior to receiving a trailer, Joel and Katie were homeless for over a year. Joel and Katie became homeless after the house they were renting to own went into foreclosure when the landlord stopped paying the mortgage.
For Joel and Katie, this program has helped them find home and stability.
After moving some of their items into their tailer, Joel and Katie have lunch. Joel expresses emotion as he reflects on what it feels like in the moment
Photo: Solar panels, donated by another couple who are recipients of a trailer from RVs For Families, will provide the necessary power that Katie needs to run her C-pap machine at night.
Photo:Joel and Katie Longanecker read over and sign a contract with Cindy Hines of RVs For Families. The contract states how their volunteer hours will be used toward them owning the trailer.
Joel and Katie Longenecker agree to fulfill the amount of volunteer hours they need to fulfill to own the trailer which is based on the cost of the trailer.
Joel and Katie Longanecker read over and sign a contract with Cindy Hines of RVs For Families. The contract states how their volunteer hours will be used toward them owning the trailer. The trailer will remain in Cindy’s name until they have fulfilled their agreement. Katie and Joel, as a couple, have to volunteer a total of 20 hours each month. Each hour of volunteer work is equal to a set dollar amount, which is applied toward them owning the trailer. The amount of volunteer hours they need to fulfill to own the trailer is based on the cost of the trailer.
Photo:Joel and his son Andrew load propane tanks into Cindy Hine’s vehicle. For Joel and Katie, this program has helped them get into a home again and have the stability they need to keep themselves going.
Joel and Katie thought they had found a place to call home, until someone complained to the Clackamas County Sheriff that someone was living in a trailer on the Clackamas Pioneer Cemetery. Despite having a working agreement with the owner to care for the cemetery in exchange for living on the property for a year, they were told that the land was not zoned for them living there. Once again, Joel and Katie found themselves moving and uncertain of where they were going to end up.
Photo: Joel and Katie pose with their son Andrew. Andrew has been in the foster care system and although he has recently turned 18, they have to petition family court to have Andrew back home. Joel and Katie are proving that you can overcome adversity when you have a community of people also reaching out to help you back up.
For Joel and Katie, getting into a trailer and having a stable home again means having their son back home and their family back together. Andrew will be 18 this month and although he is old enough to make his own decisions, Joel and Katie must demonstrate to family court that they have a home for Andrew to come home to before Andrew allowed to leave the foster care program.
Katie digs deep as she manually closes the side panel on their RV. A lack of electricity made it impossible for Katie to close the side panel on their RV prior to it being towed to their new location. Photo © Mary Anne Funk
When I commented to Katie that she was amazing, she replied, “We don’t have much, but we have grit”.