'It's never too late:' Warm Springs woman finds home, second chance

Lucy Wolfe, a member of the Warm Springs Tribe, learned to make dream catchers and traditional Native American jewelry when she was 15. After nearly two decades of living on the streets and in shelters, Wolfe finally found a home. And with it came the space to practice her art and deepen her connection to family and tradition.

Lucy Wolfe stands outside the home where she lives in a permanent supportive housing project in Warm Springs. Wolfe said before moving into her current home, she struggled to find stable housing and lived in shelters and a tent. Photo by Joe Kline.

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By DAVID DUDLEY

FORJournalism Lab

Lucy Wolfe spends most evenings at a table in her dining room, surrounded by various beads and string. Inspired by stars in the night sky, she enters a meditative state. Once her mind slows down, she slides a bead onto a strand of waxed thread, followed by another. The beads may be metal, wood, glass or plastic. Some resemble bones, long, slender and white.

Wolfe works slowly. The fluid cords of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams," or gentle notes from her friend James Edmund Greeley's flute, float from her stereo speakers.

"The colors don't matter as much as the design," Wolfe said. "I don't think too much. I do it if it feels good. This is where I'm most peaceful."

Lucy Wolfe shows a dreamcatcher necklace she previously made outside the housing complex where she lives in Warm Springs. Wolfe said she enjoyed making jewelry in the past, but hadn’t been able to continue while being homeless. Photo by Joe Kline.

A member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Wolfe was just 15 when her grandmother, Daisy Ike, taught her to make dreamcatchers, necklaces and other traditional forms of Native American jewelry.

"I gave her the first necklace I made," the 37-year-old Wolfe said. "I still feel her presence when I make jewelry today."

Wolfe said she connects with her ancestors through her art. But for many years, she was unable to practice. Ike was a medicine woman and a coordinator for juveniles at the courthouse in Warm Springs. She taught Wolfe to refrain from making dream catchers when feeling angry or depressed, and Wolfe has had her share of struggles.

When Ike died in 2020, Wolfe put down the string and beads. She was grieving, and she was homeless. It would be four years before Wolfe would practice her art again.

'I tried suicide three times'

Wolfe was born in Madras in June of 1988. She said she had 17 siblings, but many had died. Though she struggled with epilepsy — she has several scars on her face and head, the result of falling during seizures — she graduated from Madras High School in 2006.

Wolfe said her family didn't understand her condition.

Lucy Wolfe stands outside the housing complex where she lives in Warm Springs. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs’ Housing Authority opened the permanent supportive housing project last year, which includes ten 660-square-foot residences. Wolfe said she moved in earlier this year, and has benefitted from the services available. Photo by Joe Kline.

"Some said they didn't want me around, because they don't want to be my babysitter," she said. "There are times when I'll just wake up alongside the road, and not know how I got there or what happened. I've been airlifted to the hospital twice in my life."

Unable to hold down a job, Wolfe said she's lived with several relatives for various stretches of time. 

"When I'd ask to stay with some family members, they would sometimes say yes," she said. "But they were afraid of my seizures, and they didn't always have enough to go around. So, they would push me away."

After falling out with various family members, Wolfe wound up living in a tent at Quinn Park in Warm Springs. That experience exemplifies one of the challenges in capturing an accurate count of the unsheltered population among Native Americans.

Families who live in Native American communities on and off reservations often double up to keep each other off the streets. In 2017, the Urban Institute estimated that between 42,000 and 88,000 Native Americans would be homeless if they weren't living with family members. The authors of a study by the National League of Cities found that Native American and Alaska Native peoples experienced disproportionate levels of homelessness. They comprise only 1.5% of the U.S. population, but 10% of the homeless population in the U.S. 

In Central Oregon, Native Americans are 2% of the population, but 7.4% of the homeless population, according to the Central Oregon Point-in-Time Count Community Report. 

A study by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) found that generational trauma plays a significant role in driving homelessness among Native Americans nationwide. It leads to distrust in healthcare and social services that may help to improve outcomes. It also contributes to high rates of substance use disorder, according to the study. 

Wolfe said that eight of her siblings had died due to drinking or drug use. However, the medication Wolfe uses to treat her condition prevents her from doing either.

"I tried drugs once," she said. "But my body rejected it, and I wound up in the hospital. I never tried it again."

Wolfe stayed in shelters for varying lengths of time, but her materials were stolen. She rarely felt safe. So, time after time, she'd return to Quinn Park.

Wolfe said that the pattern caused her a great deal of pain. She sought disability when she was still in her 20s, but was repeatedly denied. She made jewelry sporadically because she didn't have a proper workspace. But when she did find time to complete a necklace, bracelet, or a dream catcher, it would sell quickly.

"My jewelry became really popular," Wolfe said. "I didn't realize it until I stopped making it. People would ask if I had new pieces."

Still, with nowhere to live, and no way to support herself, she felt hopeless.

"I tried to commit suicide three times," Wolfe said. "That was before I met my counselor, Annie Sampson. She told me that she thinks of me as one of her children."

Working with Sampson marked a turning point in Wolfe's life.

Keeping traditions alive

Sampson helped Wolfe get approved for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), as  well as the little blue house where Wolfe currently lives with her partner.

"Before meeting Annie, I didn't know what steps to take to apply for social security or housing," Wolfe said. "Now, I've got both."

Lucy Wolfe holds a dreamcatcher she made outside the housing complex where she lives in Warm Springs. Wolfe learned how to make dreamcatchers and jewelry from her grandmother. Photo by Joe Kline.

The 660-square-foot house is situated among nine others in a permanent supportive housing project, completed in 2024 and supported by federal funding, and run by the Warm Springs Housing Authority. Staff members offer counseling, lifestyle and self-improvement classes for residents who wish to participate.

Now that Wolfe has some income, a room in which to work, and space to safely store her materials, she's making dream catchers, necklaces, bracelets and earrings again.

"I'm trying to make enough for a big sale at the Christmas Bazaar," she said, referring to the annual Warm Springs tradition. "It feels good to create things, to make something out of nothing."

Wolfe, a self-professed wild child, said that it feels good to have a home, to learn responsibility, to connect with her ancestors and to keep their traditions alive.

"My grandmother always said it's never too late to do what you want to do," Wolfe said. "I want to keep this tradition alive. I want to make things that help people capture their dreams and their experiences, to keep them close to their hearts."

Homelessness: Real Stories, Real Solutions (realstoriesrealsolutions.org) is a journalism lab funded by Central Oregon Health Council under FORJournalism (forjournalism.org), an Oregon nonprofit dedicated to supporting journalism statewide. Sign up for weekly newsletters to receive updates.