Vehicle Residency: Homelessness We Struggle to Talk About

Their voices shatter when Sara Kuust and Jake Blackburn talk about Kuust’s miscarriage while residing in a Chevy Blazer. A red-light camera flashing in the dark night, in a big box parking lot near Portland. Four tiny kittens gamboling as a winter storm approached. The worldly possessions of three humans packed in “like Tetris,” litter box perched. Electrical problems randomly triggering door locks. The pain and metallic smell hitting. Kuust losing it. Her cleaning up with a wet rag. No security, no police coming through in the wee hours of February 12. She hadn’t sought prenatal care, didn’t go to a hospital. Blackburn and their roommate cleaning with water and towels—and favorite T-shirts—until dawn.