MHCC student Abby Stolhand is no stranger to adversity.

For much of her life she has dealt with the crippling effects of Friedreichs Ataxia, a disease of the nervous system, which has confined her to a wheelchair.

But recently, Stolhand and her family have been faced with a new challenge: having a place to stay.

For two years, Stolhand, her mother Barbara and her brother Kelly were living in a place off of Division in Gresham. But when new owners bought the property, she and her family were evicted.

Stolhand’s mother instantly began making calls looking for a new place to stay. ”It seemed like everybody that we called was really receptive, until we mentioned that I was in a wheelchair,” said Stolhand. “Then they basically denied us without coming out and saying it.”

By this point, the Stolhand family had only one week to find a new home before they were homeless.

It was at this time the family met property owner David Moss. According to Stolhand, Moss told her family that the wheelchair “was not a problem” and that he would have ramps built for her. He notified the family that he would turn in the paper work necessary for the ramp and get back to the family in a couple of days.

A couple days later, he changed his mind. According to Stolhand, Moss then told her family that he didn’t have the time to do all the work he wanted to do to make the place wheelchair accessible. Stolhand describes the rest of their conversation with Moss.
“My Mom said we’ll take care of it, it’s not a problem, we’ve done it before. He said, ‘nope…not good enough.’ By that time, we were down to three days and my Mom said we’re going to be homeless in three days and he said ‘not my problem.’ ”

Finally, Stolhand and her family found a temporary place when they were accepted by Fairview Woods Oaks. The only problem was their apartment wasn’t going to be ready for a week. “So I spent a week staying with random friends. We moved into the apartment just a couple days before thanksgiving,” said Stolhand.

The Stolhand family recently visited Oregon Fair Housing about their woes and were told they have a case.

“We talked to a lawyer and he said ‘yeah, that’s definitely illegal. People can’t discriminate against other people just because they’re in wheelchairs.’ ” Barbara Stolhand is currently seeking legal advice and a lawsuit against those who turned her family down for a place to stay.

As for Abby Stolhand, although she keeps her head up and keeps a positive point of view, the combination of her disease and all her family has gone through recently has taken it’s toll. “It’s very unfair. I feel like it’s my fault. If it wasn’t for me, my family would have a place to live with no problems,” she said.