LA GRANDE — Three months ago Angela Mitchell stood in a state of stunned disbelief.

The only footwear Mitchell owned, a pair of Sorel women’s boots, had just been stolen from her as she shivered sleeping under an outdoor metal staircase in Pendleton.

Mitchell was devastated.

But today she believes she may owe a debt of gratitude to the thief who robbed her.

“Whoever stole my boots may have saved my life,” she said.

Mitchell, 51, said if not for the theft, she may have stayed in Pendleton, where she was living on the streets with her fiance, Gilbert Danford, 48, at least a few days longer — days she believes she may not have been in condition to survive.

The couple, homeless and battling addictions, were rolling down a path to oblivion.

“We were emotionally, mentally and physically drained,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell and Danford felt they were not receiving the help they needed to survive and had nowhere to turn.

Getting a ‘God shot’

Then, a friend reversed the couple’s downward spiral, encouraging them to move to La Grande, where programs and services were available that the friend believed could put Mitchell and Danford on a path to recovery.

Days later, the couple were in La Grande, where they began receiving help from organizations and programs, including Underground Oasis (a faith-based addiction recovery and support program), the Union County Warming Station, the Center for Human Development, the Department of Human Services, the Northeast Oregon Housing Authority and the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Today, the demons of addiction are still visible in the couple’s rearview mirror, but they are slowly becoming more distant. Mitchell and Danford have been alcohol- and drug-free for more than 50 days. In addition, they are working toward having a place of their own to live and returning to the workforce.

“They have come a long way. It is amazing,” said Doug Whipple, housing services coordinator for the Union County Warming Station.

Mitchell said they arrived in La Grande not a day too soon. Had their decision to come to La Grande not been hastened by the theft of her boots, she fears they would not have made it here in time.

“It was a blessing in disguise, a God shot,” she said.

“God shot” is a favorite expression of Mitchell’s, one she uses to make reference to help she and Danford have received that seems heaven-sent.

The couple knew they made the right decision in coming to La Grande moments after entering Underground Oasis, 307 Greenwood St. They were exhausted and frightened, cold and hungry. That’s when Tami Johnston, a member of the Underground Oasis board, with her husband, Dale, the organization’s co-director, provided them blankets and a perfectly timed greeting.

“She told us, ‘It is OK, you can rest, sleep and be safe here,’” Mitchell said.

The words were exactly what Mitchell and Danford needed to hear.

“They were like golden words to us. That is when I knew we would be OK,” Mitchell said.

Finding friends

Mitchell and Danford are staying as guests at the Johnstons’ Imbler home until they are back on their feet. Tami Johnston will never forget the phone call she made to her husband telling him that she was bringing Danford and Mitchell to their home.

“I told him, ‘I don’t know what it is, but there is something special about them,’” Tami Johnston recalls telling her husband.

Today, Dale Johnston agrees there is a lot to like about Danford and Mitchell.

“I have enjoyed every minute with them,” he said.

Dale Johnston said the steps forward taken by Danford and Mitchell are inspiring many who come to the Underground Oasis.

“They are our power couple,” he said.

Danford and Mitchell don’t see themselves as special — in fact, they believe that distinction belongs to the many people who are reaching out to them.

“These people are giving us a second chance and beyond,” Danford said. “You can do anything in life if people believe in you.”

Danford said that he and his fiancee are normal individuals who made some bad choices in life.

“Life happens to regular people,” he said.

Mitchell shares this feeling.

“Life happens fast,” she said. “I didn’t plan to become an addict.”

Downward spiralMitchell’s life fell into a downward spiral after she was injured at work and later needed emergency surgery for a kidney issue. Next, the COVID-19 pandemic hit while she was recovering, reinforcing a feeling of isolation. Her health issues then led to financial ones caused by her limited ability to work. She missed several rent payments as a result and soon found herself homeless in Pendleton.

Mitchell, who earlier did surveillance work for Wildhorse Resort & Casino, is now in the process of earning a commercial driver’s license, one she hopes will help her land a job in the trucking industry. She is also interested in becoming a traffic flagger.

Danford, who owned a house and had two cars before his life took a turn for the worse, is only a few credits short of earning an associate degree from Blue Mountain Community College. He said things went downhill fast when an addiction issue got the best of him.

He hopes to complete his degree requirements and someday to study sociology in college and possibly become a counselor.

“My life experience would help me a lot as a counselor,” he said, adding his tough times have taught him about the resilience of the human spirit, especially when one has support.

“Life is tough, but I’ve learned that nothing is too hard. With good loving people around you nothing is impossible,” he said.

Mitchell agrees and adds that hope is critical if people are to change their lifestyle and break out of a rut.

“For a lot of people, if they do not have hope, they will walk the same path over and over again,” she said.

Mitchell and Danford, who met while working for a Pendleton manufacturing plant, are focused not only on improving their lives but the lives of others.

They fervently want to give back to a community that is helping them get back on their feet. Danford is impressed with the emphasis Tami and Dale Johnston place upon having people at Underground Oasis participate in community-service projects. The emphasis helps not only the community, Danford said, but also restores self-esteem to those who are trying to rebuild their lives.

“It makes you feel like you are a part of society,” he said.

Danford and Mitchell are stepping forward in their community by stacking wood at the homes of those in need and helping seniors move into new residences.

The eagerness of Mitchell and Danford to help the community reflects the depth of gratitude they both feel for all the support they have received.

“You are thankful for the simplest thing when you are homeless,” Danford said. “You don’t take anything for granted. When you are homeless a clean pair of socks can change your world.”