Filled Up With Love
July 2025
by Fumi
My friend Richard (not his real name) has not had an easy life: years of living on the streets, a cancer diagnosis, and chronic pain, to name a few of his struggles. He recently exclaimed, “I need to stop losing body parts!” With his characteristic dry wit he continued, “At last count, I was two toes, 5 teeth, and a kidney short. And now they took my spleen!”
“But you know, I’ve been luckier than most,” he said. “Do you know why? Because I was given everything I needed to survive in the world before I turned 9.”
“What were you given?” I asked.
“Love,” he said. “I was filled up with all the love a person could want until age 9, and it’s carried me through ever since. My grandpa was a full-blooded Cherokee, and every night, I would curl up on his lap, and he would tell story after story until I fell asleep. And those stories filled me up with all the love and strength I needed for my life.”
Our summer intern Neveah serving under the Morrison Bridge
At Dandelion House, we’re given a front-row seat to human resilience. It’s our privilege to accompany our guests at our house of hospitality as well as our friends living on the streets as each lives out their unique journey on this planet.
Our model of hospitality works, we believe, because humans are inherently resilient, and humans in community thrive.
Aydan’s best friend offers congratulations during our graduation ceremony
Aydan came to us 18 months ago anxious and uncertain about his future. Last month, he passed the fourth of four GED subject tests, and received his official high school equivalency certificate. During this time, he also got his driver’s license, saved money, and bought his first car. Now, he’s exploring the trades. If all goes well, he plans to move into his own place in the next six months.
Our model of hospitality works, we believe, because humans are inherently resilient, and humans in community thrive. Aydan is the one who worked the late night shifts at Red Robin, saved diligently, and purchased a car. He is the one who wrote practice essays, studied slopes and ratios, and refused to give up. Our part was to offer a home, where he knew he mattered, where he knew he was loved.
We want to offer this experience of home to more individuals in need. In the last few months, we’ve fielded multiple calls from teenagers or their school counselors looking for a safe home. We had to turn them away because our house is full. At the same time, we’ve also received multiple inquiries from people who want to live in community as Catholic Workers. We had to turn them away, too, because our house is full.
And so, here is our ask and our prayer: can you help us buy another house? It seems absurd to ask for the gift of a house, and yet, that is how our first house came to be – through the generous gift of a major donor plus hundreds of others, including many of you. We don’t want to expand into a 10-, 20-, or 50- bed shelter. We want to replicate our model of small houses of hospitality, where Catholic Workers and guests find wholeness through sharing life in community. We know there is need, and we know there are generous souls wanting to commit their lives to this work. Our vision is for a second home, anchored by full-time Catholic Workers, offering hospitality to teens and families in need
Are you in a position to make a major gift – one that could be a substantial down payment on a house in Portland? Please give me a call at 408.910.7074 so we can chat!
Together, we can create a home, where stories are told and we are filled up with love.