LEAH NASH PHOTOGRAPHY

STORIES | ESSAYS: Rural Poverty in Oregon

"This is the hardest thing I've ever done," says mother Shella. She has secretly been living in a RV in the woods on the outskirts of Oakridge, OR for several weeks this summer with her husband Robert, and their two children, Journey, 2, (pictured) and Genesis, 1. The family is trying to save up enough money to move on to Portland but with the cost of gas, find it difficult to make ends meet. Robert is sometimes able to find day labor in town and Shella will pick berries to make jam but they are not sure what is next for them.
"This is the hardest thing I've ever done," says mother Shella. She has secretly been living in a RV in the woods on the outskirts of Oakridge, OR for several weeks this summer with her husband Robert, and their two children, Journey, 2, (pictured) and Genesis, 1. The family is trying to save up enough money to move on to Portland but with the cost of gas, find it difficult to make ends meet. Robert is sometimes able to find day labor in town and Shella will pick berries to make jam but they are not sure what is next for them.