Healing begins with coming home.

After a catastrophic injury or illness, a person can feel lost—cut off from what’s familiar, safe, and grounding. Healing is the difficult work of finding your way home. It’s building strength, learning new skills, and gathering the support you need to navigate not only the physical impact of injury, but the complex, fragmented healthcare system surrounding it. 

Healing is the journey back to yourself. It’s the journey home.

But for people recovering from a spinal cord injury, returning home isn’t always possible.

That’s why the Mortensen House Project, created by Oregon Spinal Cord Injury Connection (OSCI), exists. Mortensen House is a critical bridge—one that helps people continue their healing journey when their home is not yet accessible.

After hospitalization, inpatient rehabilitation is a vital step in recovery. Yet too often, individuals are delayed or denied access to rehab simply because they don’t have an accessible home to return to. When this happens, a person’s recovery can stall or take a dangerous detour, resulting in significant physical, emotional, and mental costs. The Mortensen House Project ensures that a detour doesn’t happen.

The Mortensen House is Oregon’s first transitional home designed specifically for people recovering from spinal cord injuries. While living there, residents can focus on recovery while completing home modifications, securing long-term housing, or preparing for independent living, with guidance from OSCI’s Community Health Workers.

This bridge of healing exists because of Michael Mortensen, who lived with a spinal cord injury for 20 years. He understood that healing requires more than medical care—it requires environment, stability, and support. He wished for his home to help others facing similar challenges. After his passing, his sister Lois chose to fulfill that wish, transforming loss into a place of safety and hope.

“Life changes literally in an instant,” Lois says. “Look for the good. It is there, even if you have to create it yourself.”

Because of Michael’s vision and Lois’s generosity, a house is becoming a home for healing.

When it opens, the Mortensen House will include essential accessibility features, with plans to expand in the coming years to add a therapy space, a second accessible bedroom and bathroom, and a wheelchair-friendly backyard—ensuring recovery can continue in a setting that nurtures both body and mind.

Healing is not only about medicine or mobility. It’s about returning to yourself. It’s about having a place where you can begin again.

The Mortensen House is that bridge—bringing people home to healing, to independence, and ultimately, to home itself.

The Mortensen House exists because people believed healing deserved a place to happen. As this home prepares to open—and grow—there are many ways you can be part of that bridge back to healing.

Sponsor a Project That Supports Recovery

You can help bring future phases of the Mortensen House to life by sponsoring a specific project, including:

• Therapy Area Project – Support the creation of a dedicated space for rehabilitation exercises, wellness activities, and ongoing recovery outside of a clinical setting.
• Wheelchair-Friendly Backyard & Gardening Project – Help fund accessible outdoor space where residents can garden, spend time in nature, and reconnect with a sense of calm and independence.
• Garage Wheelchair Maintenance Setup – Sponsor the build-out of a functional area for wheelchair storage, maintenance, and repairs—an essential part of daily mobility and independence.
• Additional Bedroom Project – Contribute to expanding the home with an additional accessible bedroom to serve more people in need of a safe place to continue healing.
• Home Automation Project – Support smart-home features that improve accessibility, safety, and independence, such as automated lighting, doors, temperature controls, and voice-activated systems.

Purchase Needed Items for the Home

You can make an immediate impact by purchasing items directly from the Mortensen House Amazon Wishlist. These items support daily living, accessibility, and comfort, and help ensure the house is fully equipped for residents as they transition home. Don’t want to support Amazon? You can order the items from somewhere else and have them delivered or drop them off. Contact us for the delivery address.

We are always appreciative of donations of consumables – cleaning supplies, toilet paper, paper towels, dishwasher pods, and dish soap.

Support Ongoing Services

Ongoing services help keep the Mortensen House safe, functional, and welcoming for everyone. Support for these needs can be provided through financial contributions or in-kind professional service donations, including:

• Cleaning services
• Landscaping and lawn care
• Handyman and general repair services

Healing doesn’t happen alone—and it doesn’t happen without a place to land. Your support helps transform a house into a home, and a moment of crisis into a path forward. If you’re interested in supporting a project, donating items, or contributing professional services, we invite you to reach out and learn how you can be part of this bridge to healing.