By Lydia Hallay, November 29, 2025
My Give!Guide Picks This Year
Every winter, Willamette Week’s Give!Guide shows up and reminds me how much good is moving through this city — the quiet work that tends to the heart of Portland. The kind that doesn’t make headlines, but absolutely makes a difference.
Here are three nonprofits I’m supporting this year, whose missions reflect values I hold close: housing stability, racial equity, and support for immigrant and refugee communities. These are organizations doing the essential, everyday work of strengthening the fabric of our city: Taking Ownership PDX, Impact NW, and Immigration Counseling Service.
Here’s why their work matters — and why you should consider supporting them through the 2025 Give!Guide.
🌱 Taking Ownership PDX
Housing justice. Community repair. Supporting Black homeowners in a system that hasn’t served them equally.
Taking Ownership partners with Black homeowners who are facing displacement, rising costs, or homes needing major repairs. Their work is hands-on and deeply rooted in equity — stabilizing families, preserving generational wealth, and helping long-time Portlanders stay in their neighborhoods.
As a white person working in real estate, I’m part of an industry that has historically contributed to racial inequity in housing — through policy, lending, zoning, and daily practice. I can’t rewrite that history, but I can take responsibility for where my resources go, who I uplift, and what kind of Portland I help shape.
Supporting Taking Ownership is one small, concrete way I do that.
My teammates Megan, Margo and I each donate a portion of every commission to Taking Ownership, which has added up to over $7,000 so far this year — a number made possible because of the clients who trust us with their home journeys.
▶️ Learn more & donate through Give!Guide.
🧡 Impact NW
Meeting basic needs so families can stay housed, warm, and connected.
Impact NW has been a quiet backbone in Portland for decades. They help families and seniors stay stable during moments that could otherwise unravel — a missed paycheck, a medical bill, a cold snap. Their work often determines whether someone stays housed or loses their footing entirely.
This month, we’re collecting new (tags on) coats in all sizes, from infant to adult: Raincoats, jackets, and winter coats at the Living Room Realty Office. Warm coats might seem small, but for someone heading into winter without one, it’s everything. This is the kind of neighborly care I believe in.
Drop off your new coats of all sizes at 421 SE 10th Ave. between 9-5pm, Monday-Friday through December 16th.
▶️ Learn more & donate through Give!Guide.
🌎 Immigration Counseling Service (ICS)
Legal access and stability for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers facing an increasingly hostile system.
ICS provides affordable, culturally grounded immigration legal services for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers — people who are often navigating an overwhelming, high-stakes process in a country that doesn’t make it easy to stay safe or stay together.
Right now, ICE continues to detain people abruptly, separate families, and fast-track deportation cases without adequate representation. For many immigrants in Portland, having a lawyer is the difference between staying with their family or being removed from the country they’ve built a life in.
ICS meets people in those moments of fear and uncertainty and offers clarity, protection, and a path forward. Their work is steady, humane, and essential. I’m donating $500 to ICS through the Give!Guide to help bolster this essential support.
▶️ Learn more & donate through Give!Guide.
Why These Groups?
Because they’re doing the kind of work that strengthens the Portland I want to live in — a Portland rooted in care, equity, and community.
These organizations show up every day in big and small ways: stabilizing families, keeping neighbors warm, and helping new Portlanders feel safe and welcomed. I’m honored to support them, and I’d love for you to join me if you’re able.
Here’s to a more cared-for Portland- where neighbors look out for neighbors.✨❤️
Lydia Hallay
Broker | OR
She/They
Buying or selling a home is often one of the biggest (and most stressful) decisions you'll ever make. I'm here to make your experience as seamless (and fun) as possible.
Looking to buy? Whether you're a design-minded dreamer looking for that mid-century unicorn, an investor on the hunt for a fixer (or a 5-plex) to tear into, or a first-time buyer in need of a gentle guide - I'm a skilled negotiator with an eye for design and a knack for finding homes with "good bones." I'm on a mission to ensure you feel empowered and cared for throughout the home-buying process.
Ready to sell? If you want to maximize your sales price, you've come to the right place! With a background in landscape/interior design and construction/project management, I've got the tools it takes to make your house shine. When it comes to catching buyer attention, I go beyond the traditional (ex. open houses, RMLS, etc.)- incorporating cutting-edge tools and outside-the-box strategy to build the hype. When it's time to negotiate, my years of experience bargaining contracts mean I'm calm under pressure and know what it takes to get to YES.
Like many folks working in real estate, I've got a grab-bag of past lives that inform how I show up. Most of my 20's and 30's (17 years), I worked as a union organizer/negotiator on the state and national level- helping workers across sectors and industries join together and become leaders in the fight for better wages & benefits, a voice on the job, and political power. I've been an entrepreneur, a landscape designer, freelance florist, and have a deep well of personal experience with home renovation & property management under my belt.
Aside from working with buyers & sellers, I volunteer my time as the Integrity Chair on Living Room Realty's Broker Advisory Group. In that role, I serve as Living Room's broker representative for our B-Corp status.
A portion of every one of my paychecks goes to Taking Ownership PDX, a community collective of contractors, realtors, neighbors, and businesses who support Black homeowners to age in place, generate wealth, and deflect the gentrification process by deterring predatory investors and realtors.
About Me: I was born in Memphis, raised in the Sonoran desert (Phoenix), and have been in the PNW since 2003. I identify as queer, and use she/they pronouns. I'm married with sweeties (i.e., I practice ethical non-monogamy) and nest with my spouse, dog, and two cats in the Lents neighborhood of outer SE Portland. I'm a people person, music nerd, avid gardener, and seed-sower/organizer. Since coming to Portland in 2004, I've witnessed many iterations of the city. I'm bullish on the future here- and excited about all our region has to offer. Good food, proximity to nature, an incredible local music scene, and an inclusive community are just a handful of the reasons I love this area. As your realtor, I promise to show up as myself. I'll hustle hard on your behalf with patience, a good listening ear, professionalism, and a goofy sense of humor. What you see is what you get, friends. And if we decide to work together, that's the kind of authenticity I hope you feel comfortable showing too. Ready to make magic happen? Feel free to shoot me a text/email, or give me an old fashioned ring. I'm excited to meet you!
Land Acknowledgement & Mission Statement As a Realtor, the land I do business on is unceded Indigenous land. The Portland Metro area rests on the ancestral lands of the Cowlitz, Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Tumwater, Tualatin Kalapuya, Wasco, Molalla, Watlala, Bands of the Chinook, and so many other nations who made this area their home. In addition to the federally recognized tribes mentioned, there are numerous “unrecognized” tribes and Indigenous groups whose stories are also important. I recognize these tribes' legacy, lives, and descendants, and acknowledge my role and responsibility as a guest on stolen lands. I am committed to using my voice and influence as a real estate professional (and, as a human being) to actively contribute to a more just and equitable future- one that promotes dignity, respect, and repair for the damaged caused by systemic oppression, white supremacy, homophobia/transphobia, and exploitative capitalism. If you can't get behind all that. We're probably not a good fit. :)
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About Me: I was born in Memphis, raised in the Sonoran desert (Phoenix), and have been in the PNW since 2003. I identify as queer, and use she/they pronouns. I'm married with sweeties (i.e., I practice ethical non-monogamy) and nest with my spouse, dog, and two cats in the Lents neighborhood of outer SE Portland. I'm a people person, music nerd, avid gardener, and seed-sower/organizer. Since coming to Portland in 2004, I've witnessed many iterations of the city. I'm bullish on the future here- and excited about all our region has to offer. Good food, proximity to nature, an incredible local music scene, and an inclusive community are just a handful of the reasons I love this area. As your realtor, I promise to show up as myself. I'll hustle hard on your behalf with patience, a good listening ear, professionalism, and a goofy sense of humor. What you see is what you get, friends. And if we decide to work together, that's the kind of authenticity I hope you feel comfortable showing too. Ready to make magic happen? Feel free to shoot me a text/email, or give me an old fashioned ring. I'm excited to meet you!
Land Acknowledgement & Mission Statement As a Realtor, the land I do business on is unceded Indigenous land. The Portland Metro area rests on the ancestral lands of the Cowlitz, Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Tumwater, Tualatin Kalapuya, Wasco, Molalla, Watlala, Bands of the Chinook, and so many other nations who made this area their home. In addition to the federally recognized tribes mentioned, there are numerous “unrecognized” tribes and Indigenous groups whose stories are also important. I recognize these tribes' legacy, lives, and descendants, and acknowledge my role and responsibility as a guest on stolen lands. I am committed to using my voice and influence as a real estate professional (and, as a human being) to actively contribute to a more just and equitable future- one that promotes dignity, respect, and repair for the damaged caused by systemic oppression, white supremacy, homophobia/transphobia, and exploitative capitalism. If you can't get behind all that. We're probably not a good fit. :)
- T: 503-807-0156
- lydiah@livingroomre.com
