PORT ANGELES, Washington — A Port Angeles woman is taking it upon herself to help the homeless, even if going out and finding them on her own is what it takes.
Ryan Petka now has a roof over his head and a job fixing electronics, but he said it's a far cry from where he used to be a short time ago.
Petka lived in the woods of Port Angeles for more than three years before he and Amy Miller's paths crossed and she made him a simple offer.
"It started with a pair of socks and a smile," said Petka.
That offer of kindness opened a door Petka would eventually walk through after a rough life on the streets.
He said he could've easily been killed when a tree fell on the tent he was sleeping in during a storm.
"Literally, a branch was an inch away from puncturing me," he said. "Everything happens for a reason."
Miller runs Rediscovery, a new program in Port Angeles where she tracks down people who are homeless and gets them help before they become more of a burden on society.
"We want to prevent the arrest, if we can. We want to prevent the hospitalization because those are costly," said Miller.
"Our program may be the only one of its kind to leverage resources upstream from what would often otherwise be an arrest, an overdose or an admission to the ER," said Port Angeles Police Chief Brian Smith.
Unlike other programs where social workers are embedded with a single law enforcement agency, Miller works with everyone from local police to state Fish & Wildlife officers, giving her a broader reach.
"These people can't escape me," she laughed. "They see me in the woods, they see me at the Salvation Army. I want them to know I'm a resource for them."
Miller is an army of one, funded by a grant from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. She has come into contact with nearly 300 people over the past year and has shepherded many into housing and rehab.
"Once you establish that trust they'll ask you for things, like a bus pass," she said. "Eventually that grows into something greater."
Miller's approach is very hands-on, she said she'll literally hold someone's hand through the process of getting their life together.
"If people come to me and say they're ready for detox, it's get in my car. Let's go," she said. "It's a scary time. They need to know someone will be there for them."
As for Petka, he thinks back gratefully to the day he met Miller in the woods and that simple offering of a pair of dry socks.
"It's the equivalent of a candle at the end of a dark hallway," said Petka.