Search 
Author Reading: Temple Lentz in Conversation with Dr. Andy Mendenhall
The following description was submitted by the event organizer.
BOLD is honored to host a reading with Temple Lentz, author of Not Quite Home, in conversation with Dr. Andy Mendenhall, President/CEO of Central City Concern.
For this event, Temple will be joined by Dr. Andy Mendenhall for a discussion about the themes in Not Quite Home and the local issues affecting Portland’s most vulnerable populations.
Not Quite Home: Claire, wealthy and recently widowed, is adrift. She has access to tools to make a real difference, but can’t figure out where to apply them. Erica, a young outreach worker to the homeless, has grown so cynical about the broken system that she’s breaking rules herself—and for that, she’s about to get fired. One day, Erica finds Claire giving away gourmet sandwiches and twenty-dollar bills at a homeless encampment, and yanks her out of there with a lecture about systemic problems and feel-good solutions. Their conflict soon becomes a partnership, and they craft a plan to help ten unhoused women get off the streets and build a community of their own. Together, they navigate nasty neighbors and difficult politicians. And just when it seems like they’re going to pull it off, a shadow from one woman’s past jeopardizes the entire project.
Temple Lentz is a nonprofit CEO and former local elected official. She has also been a stagehand, a security guard, a waitress, an exercise instructor, and a tour guide. Her writing has appeared in several weekly newspapers and a couple of anthologies. This is her first book.
As President and CEO, Dr. Andy Mendenhall oversees all aspects of Central City Concern. During his tenure, Andy has elevated and diversified CCC’s service level to offer a broad array of evidence-based practices to match client needs. Andy’s heart has always been anchored in service work to the most vulnerable and simultaneously resilient members of the Portland metropolitan region.