NOT QUITE HOME

A story of an unlikely friendship between two women offers a snapshot into the realities of addiction, trauma, and homelessness.

When well-to-do socialite and philanthropist Claire Anderson attends the annual fundraising luncheon for Portland Promise, an agency focused on supporting the unhoused, she comes to the realization that simply donating money doesn’t solve a problem. The trouble is, she arrives at this conclusion during her speech as the agency honors her as one of its top donors of the year. Claire’s epiphany forces her to confront her own privilege and ignorance. Inspired by the selfless work of her recently deceased husband, Chris, Claire soon finds herself wanting to do more to help the unhoused. Portland Promise outreach worker Erica Ford, who’s seven years sober, watched from the crowd as Claire gave her speech, surprised and impressed. Feeling hamstrung by the complexity of the issue of homelessness, Erica often finds herself at odds with her boss, Bruce Bishop. Claire and Erica are drawn together by their mutual desire for change, and they hatch a plan to create innovative women’s transitional housing using Claire’s money and Erica’s skills. However, they soon realize that, in addition to coordinating the project and building it, they must contend with intolerant neighbors, a city council reluctant to trying a new approach, and the complexities of working with marginalized women. Over the course of this novel inspired by the lives of real people, Lentz highlights “how expensive it is be to be poor,” as a young, unhoused woman named Wendi notes: “I’ve met so many people who get ticketed for something a regular person wouldn’t even get noticed for….I knew one guy who didn’t have a phone to set an alarm to wake him up on time, and he missed his hearing and got a fine.” Overall, the novel offers insight into the stories of the unhoused and articulates both the complexity of systemic issues, as well as the importance of making sure that policy changes involving a specific group shouldn’t be made without their input.

A powerfully told story of the choices behind changes.