This is the text of Natalia Gonzalez's speech at Friendly House's 2001 fund-raising event, "2001: A Friendly Odyssey."

Good evening. I am happy to be here. I want to thank Kristin Wollen and Adam Menendez for inviting me here tonight to share my experience from Friendly House's Transitional Housing Program.

It began like this: Sometime in early 1992, I was in need of help in fleeing an eight-year abusive relationship from my husband. I remember calling the Portland Women's Crisis Line - a hotline for information and referral for anyone experiencing a crisis. I asked for help in getting away from my abuser, and I told them that I did not want to go to a shelter because I had a collarbone fracture from him, and that it would be hard for me to be in a shelter program with four young children. I had two boys and two girls. My older boy was about 11 years old, the younger around 5. My girls, the older was about 7, the youngest around 4.

The crisis line gave me the number for Friendly House. I called them and I was offered to be vouchered into a motel. A few weeks later, I was placed in their Transitional Housing Program. I lived there for about a year and a half. During that time, I went to school, my children went to school, and during the summer, my children participated in the Friendly House's Summer Program. Friendly House was a good program for me because I was not fluent in English and I was provided with a bilingual case manager that helped me in applying for other programs such as Public Assistance and Public Housing, etc. It was then that I met Kristin Wollen, who spoke to me and my children in Spanish.

Friendly House's program gave me the strength and power to take control of my life. In a shelter program, I didn't have the same experience, because I was given a list of things to work on, and if the family could not keep up with the expectations, you may be asked to leave. Friendly House's transitional program gave me the opportunity to work on longer-term goals, such as applying for a longer-term housing program through the Housing Authority of Portland-Section 8 program, which I continue to use because of low-income wages; plus I became independent and responsible for my own family's well-being.

I learned a lot from Friendly House about the resources that were available for the Latino population and the process for the application and referral. A few years later I had a chance to apply for AmeriCorp-Vista Program (a government program). I was given the opportunity to put my bilingual skills to work, and I began working with social work agencies such as: Neighborhood Health Clinics for medical uninsured population; Jean's Place, a homeless women's program; and I am currently with the Raphael House domestic violence shelter as a Hispanic Advocate and Case Manager.

My focus now is helping the Latino population. I feel that this community needs the bilingual support and, in some cases, bi-cultural staff. I would like to give back to the community for being supportive of my family when we were in need of help. I enjoy doing this kind of work and hope to continue to increase my skills to better serve the population in need. I appreciate having all of the resources that are available in this state for those who are in need of them. I also find it empowering to have housing programs available such as Friendly House.

My children are adolescents now, but they are still talking about the "Northwest Towers," Friendly House's transitional program. They also talk about their experience with other children that they met at the Friendly House's Summer Program, and the things they did together, such as breaking a Piñata and going on field trips. I'm grateful that my children were able to have a good time during a time of crisis.

I am grateful for all of the help that I received at Friendly House. It was a wonderful experience. Now, when I hear that Friendly House has an opening available and I have a candidate, I call to give them a referral.

Thank you so much for your attention, and again, thank you Kristin and Adam.