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One-third of homeless are children Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Rebecca and George Woodring and their 2-month-old baby, Victoria, stay in a shelter at night but must find a place to stay warm during the day. They say they have good lines on jobs, but need day care and warm baby things. EDITOR�S NOTE: "Light One Candle" is an annual Mail Tribune feature that focuses on a single need of a person, family or agency during the holiday season. By Bill Varble George and Rebecca Woodring were homeless and on the road when they wound up in Medford and their baby was born. That was early October. On a cold December day at St. Vincent de Paul�s kitchen, George cuddles baby Victoria, now 2 months old. "Want to see her smile?" he says. He jiggles the baby�s legs. She coos and smiles. A week ago the Woodrings almost gave Victoria up to foster care. They stay at a shelter at night but must be out during the day. They�d been carrying the baby with them as they looked for work and ran errands, and it was cold. "Basically we just walk around," says George, 26. "Sometimes we go to the mall to warm up. It�s not fair to her. If we had jobs...." His voice trails off. The 1990s may go down as the best of times, but not for everybody. The number of people seeking homeless assistance in Oregon has more than doubled. Oregon Housing and Community Services, a housing finance agency, reports that almost 9,000 Oregonians will seek shelter assistance tonight. More than one-third will be children 17 or younger, with more than 2,000 age 11 or under. Last year, 24 percent of those seeking lodging were turned away for lack of space, including nearly 800 children on any given night. The couple say they�d been trying to hitch rides to Anaheim, Calif., to find George�s grandparents and seek their help in starting over. They hitched and walked from Grants Pass to the Talent rest area on Interstate 5 when Becky, 22, seemed to be going into labor. A trucker called paramedics. Victoria was born two days later at the Providence Birth Center. CERVS, a nonprofit agency, put the family up in a home owned by a church for several weeks. George found work at Harry and David for a couple of weeks. Using his earnings, the couple bought a car for $150, left CERVS and made a trip to Southern California, but they were unable to find George�s grandparents. After living in the car for a time, they returned to Medford. "We kept hitting dead ends," Becky says. "They left under their own steam," says Sharon Schreiber, of CERVS. "But they failed to keep the commitments they made to helping themselves." George Woodring acknowledges a parting of ways with CERVS. "They said we weren�t motivated enough," he says. "They�ve been pretty good with us," says Kathy Morgan at St. Vincent dePaul. It was a little over a week ago that the Woodrings decided to give up Victoria. It was George�s idea, but Becky agreed, thinking maybe her sister in Washington could take the baby. "My mom is really mad at me for marrying George," she says. Her family is Hispanic, his Anglo. "There�s no way my dad can help," George says flatly. "I�m from a poverty family." They changed their minds and kept the baby. The Woodrings say they�re looking for jobs as they struggle with various problems. Adult and Family Services will help with day care once they�re working. It�s hard to get day care without work, but it�s hard to get work without day care. Meanwhile, George says he�s waiting for a copy of his birth certificate from New York so that he can get Oregon identification. Becky thinks she has a job lined up at a fast food restaurant. George says he has a good shot at a job doing maintenance work at a motel. The couple say they want to get jobs and keep the baby. They could use help in the form of warm baby things and day care. Donations may be made to St. Vincent dePaul, P.O. Box 1663, Medford, OR 97501. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.