Sisters of the Road co-founder Genny Nelson remembered as a passionate advocate for unhoused Portlanders

By Geoff Norcross (OPB)
Aug. 29, 2020 1 p.m.

“Radical can mean going to the root cause of injustice.”

Genny Nelson, a longtime advocate for people experiencing homelessness in Portland, died last week.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

Nelson helped found Sisters of the Road, a nonprofit cafe and gathering spot in downtown Portland.

Monica Beemer worked with her for more than a decade, and joined OPB’s “Morning Edition” host Geoff Norcross recently to talk about Nelson’s life and legacy. Here are the highlights, and you can listen to the entire conversation using the audio player at the top of this story.

Geoff Norcross: People who work on issues such as homelessness in Oregon know Genny Nelson very well, but she might not be so well known to other people. So how would you sum up who Genny Nelson was?

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

Monica Beemer: Genny was a person who helped shape the local and national discussion about houselessness by building the political will and our knowledge about what was needed through cross-class, authentic relationships. She knew that people with direct experience with houselessness were the experts on their own needs. And she also believed in the power of hospitality and community organizing for changing the systems that created the epidemic we see today.

Norcross: Sisters of the Road is pretty unique. Could you explain how it works and the role it plays for people who are experiencing homelessness?

Beemer: It’s in Old Town/Chinatown, and it’s a place where you can pay $1.25 for a meal. This model came from asking folks. They said, “We’d like to pay a little bit or we’d like to be able to do barter work for a meal when we don’t have the $1.25.” So folks can use SNAP or food stamps for the meal, they can do barter work, and there’s a few other ways to pay.

But the first-time meal is always free because it’s a welcome to Sisters. One of the other things that’s unique about Sisters is, it’s a philosophy-based organization. Some examples of that are ... when different groups are trying to criminalize sitting or just being in the city when your houseless, we fight against that. We had a civil disobedience leave for staff with prior approval of your supervisor, and we always worked for a livable wage for all workers.

Norcross: In a remembrance you wrote, you said that Genny Nelson practiced what you termed “gentle personalism” in her work with the houseless community. What does that mean?

Beemer: Gentle personalism is important in all of our relationships and work, so that’s one of the things that’s unique about Sisters or maybe not unique — hopefully not unique, but is important. Gentle personalism, which was borrowed from the Catholic Worker Movement, is about authentic relationships and getting to know each other deeply and personally. Having a cafe is a great place to do that, because you can sit down and share a cup of coffee or a meal. It was in all of our job descriptions, taking time to make sure we’re building that connection with each other, all of us in the cafe and also in our organizing work in our city. Genny taught us that authentic relationship is really our purpose, and because of our relationships and because of our love and care for each other, we’ll stand up for each other’s rights and freedoms and fight for a society that stands up for those rights as well.

Norcross: What did you learn about leadership and activism from Genny Nelson?

Beemer: Besides learning that relationship is primary, which is really huge, I learned that we need to be accountable and keep growing and learning together. I learned that history and truth are really important. I learned to not do for others what they could do for themselves. I also learned that radical can mean going to the root cause of injustice and that radical work can be about radical love.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:
THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR: