Rose Haven day shelter raises funds, celebrates motherhood at annual Reigning Roses Walk

An hour before the Reigning Roses Walk was scheduled to begin on Sunday, organizers and volunteers were bustling around The Eleanor, an event space at 1605 N.W. Everett St.

The room was decorated with paper roses, an appropriate touch as the Reigning Roses Walk is the annual fundraiser for Rose Haven, a day shelter and community center that offers services including meals, clothing, showers, and support for low-income women, children, and people of marginalized genders who are experiencing homelessness and other difficulties.

As volunteers set up swag bags for people who would be taking part in the 5k walk through Northwest Portland’s Alphabet District, Sarah Hobbs sat a table, wearing a colorful outfit decorated with the “Star Wars” logo and characters. Hobbs also clutched a stuffed figure of Grogu, the lovable character from “The Mandalorian” TV series, affectionately known as “Baby Yoda.”

“I started coming to Rose Haven in 1997,” Hobbs said. After having gone through some tough years, Rose Haven has been a source of support, helping with housing and other needs.

“I struggle with depression and isolation,” Hobbs, 61, said, which makes the community atmosphere at Rose Haven a welcoming place to be.

Liz Starke, Rose Haven’s development director, said that more than 700 people had registered for the walk, and more were expected to show up on Sunday.

Though the walk was free, participants were encouraged to donate to Rose Haven if they could.

“This is really what supports our programs all year,” Starke said. This is the twelfth year Rose Haven hosted the event. The fundraising goal this year was $250,000, and the shelter had met that goal and more before the walk even began, Starke said.

Right now, we’re all strained,” Starke said of Rose Haven and other nonprofits, “and we’re seeing increasing need.”

Holding the Reigning Roses Walk on Mother’s Day is important, Starke said, “because this can be a hard day for guests,” particularly for those who have lost their mothers, or who may not be in touch with their children.

“We can all come together in solidarity,” Starke said.

The walk included stops at area businesses, where participants watched performances, and sampled food and drink.

Those partnerships with businesses are also a meaningful sign of support, Starke said.

“There’s a lot of talk about how Portland isn’t what I used to be, and the houseless have taken over. It’s not us vs. them. That’s what this event is about.”

As crowds started to pour into The Eleanor, walkers bought tickets for a raffle featuring items donated by area businesses, and a string quartet from the Oregon Symphony serenaded the attendees.

Marshell Hines, 62, found help from Rose Haven following an accident that left her with a traumatic brain injury that made it impossible for her to work. She was homeless for a time, sleeping on the street, “dazed and confused,” she said.

She turned to Rose Haven for help about three years ago. “Thanks to Rose Haven, I became a new person,” Hines said. Staff there helped her get her current apartment and now, as she said, she feels like she’s “on top of the world.”

She wanted to share her experience with Rose Haven, Hines said, because “I’d like to see more ladies make it to the top.”

Others milling about The Eleanor had a personal connection to Rose Haven, or just wanted to be part of the event.

“I just support women,” said Heidi Needham, 43, who was joined by her husband, Ivan Needham, 51. Attending the walk on Mother’s Day was especially meaningful, Needham said, because “I want to support mothers.”

Sally Rosenfeld, 67, was attending with a group from Congregation Beth Israel, and was for the moment keeping an eye on the children of other members of the group, who were still waiting to check in.

“Our congregation has developed a partnership with Rose Haven,” Rosenfeld said, and joining in the walk was part of those efforts.

As the 11 a.m. walk was about to start, groups began making their way outdoors to the parking lot, where some posed for photos, or watched a troupe called The Dirt Darlins’ perform line dances.

As a group of walkers, many wearing decorative gold crowns made of paper, set out for the first part of the walk down Northwest Flanders Street, raindrops began falling.

The precipitation didn’t stop the walkers. As one said: “It just indicates the importance of day shelters.”