“Housing is the ability to dream. It gives people the space to envision themselves somewhere different. If you’re always fighting for your basic needs, there’s no way you could be your full self.” 

Libra Forde, host of this year’s HopeBuilder Lunch, wants everyone to have the ability to dream. For her, this event is a powerful step toward that goal. Libra is a nationally celebrated executive leader, speaker, and advocate. She champions racial and gender justice across her work, currently serving as the Executive Director of the Women’s Foundation of Oregon, Chair of the Oregon Commission for Women, and member of the Oregon State Board of Education.  

To Libra, achieving justice is a multifaceted effort, and affordable housing is a key component.  

“When we think about justice, it just comes down to what’s fair,” she says. “We all deserve abundance, hope, and inspiration. A just world provides those things.”  

That hope and abundance, according to Libra, requires a stable place to call home — something she knows firsthand.  

When she first moved her family to Oregon a decade ago, a relationship change led her and her children to lose their home within their first 24 hours here.  

“Having unstable housing for the first time in my life was petrifying,” she says. She turned to nonprofits and social services to find her family new housing. Without other support, they helped guide her through a very difficult time. Nine months later, she had stable housing again and a new direction in life. 

“Now, I touch my walls often and remind myself that I get to dream because I have shelter.” 

Opening the door to dreams 

Libra’s experience navigating housing instability not only gave her more empathy, she says; it also shaped her professional direction.  

“I promised myself that once we got through it, I would be a part of the change and the support system,” she says. “Every human should have the ability to dream.”  

Since then, she says one of her proudest moments was playing an instrumental role in securing a substantial HUD grant for rapid rehousing in Portland. When she served as COO of Self Enhancement Inc., she and their partner organizations worked to get funding for Project Haven, which funded transitional housing for families right here in Portland. Always working towards a brighter future, Libra’s values shine through all her work. 

Envisioning a future where everyone has a safe, affordable place to call home 

Habitat Portland Region is working to build and repair homes here in our community, bringing us closer to a future where everyone has a safe and stable home. But we can’t do it alone. 

Our annual HopeBuilder Lunch is just around the corner. This event is your chance to come together with your community and be part of positive change. You can expect connection and powerful stories, not least of all from Libra.   

“Community is where you solve a lot of problems,” Libra says. “If we spent more time building hope, our world would be really different.” 

So please join us on April 22, and let’s open the door to a future where everyone has the space to dream.