PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Rose Haven runs Portland’s only day shelter and community center, serving women, children and gender non-conforming people who need help. They’ve been operating in a basement of a building with about 3000 square feet.
But with the help of design company Gensler Portland, they’re repurposing what used to be a coffee shop and roasting facility, making use of 10,000 square feet.
The renovated building will provide necessary services to Rose Haven’s guests and create a compassionate and safe environment where they can heal with respect and dignity.
Sun Joo Kim, the design manager for Gensler Portland, said the biggest driver behind the new design was the people who it will serve.
“It’s energizing and uplifting for myself and our team to be able to work on trauma-informed design in this real-time in this real space with the users who will use it,” Kim said. “Then, to get feedback and to see the impact that this space will have is invaluable,” Kim said.
The design will feature natural, exposed, wood beams contrasting with light walls and furniture to give the space a warm, open feel where Rose Haven’s guests can socialize and feel a sense of community or find a quiet place for privacy.
Splashes of pastel hues throughout will make this comfortable and calming environment even more inviting.
Rose Haven serves about 22,000 meals a year, but they’ve never had a designated place for their guests to eat at a table. Now they will.
Rose Haven — Donations
Their store will look and feel like boutiques in Northwest Portland — to offer the women and kids receiving the donated clothing a more empowering experience.
There will also be offices, workspaces and a medic room for Rose Haven’s team of directors, advocates and volunteers.
Katie O’Brien, the executive director for Rose Haven, said the new location will change more lives for the better.
“When you come to a place and someone sees you, you know how that feels. You feel good, you feel seen,” O’Brien said. “In all that we do we try and promote what we see inside people…who this person is, and who this person can become if they’re supported and lifted up a little bit more.”
Rose Haven will now be a sanctuary for more than 3,500 guests every year.
They were thrilled to be gifted an anonymous donation of $500,000 to put toward the campaign goal of $3 million. So far, they’re about halfway to that goal.
The remodel begins in September with a goal to open in January.
