M ARTIN L UTHER K ING J R .
January 14, 2015
INSIDE
The
Week in Review
Page 3
2015 special edition
This page
Sponsored by:
page 2
L OCAL N EWS
MLK S PECIAL E DITION
PHOTO BY O LIVIA O LIVIA /T HE P ORTLAND O BSERVER
Lynda Williams (left) and her mother Thelma Williams welcome the volunteer help they received to
make much-needed home repairs. The volunteer effort was part of the many community service
projects associated with Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.
pages 24-31
Repairs Save Home
S PORTS
C ALENDAR
C LASSIFIEDS
O PINION
pages 42-43
Contractors inspired by MLK Day of Service
page 32-33
page 30
page 38
BY O LIVIA O LIVIA
T HE P ORTLAND O BSERVER
A long time resident and senior
member of Portland’s black commu-
nity just got some much needed
home repairs from volunteers who
gave back in recognition of the day
of community service that’s become
a tradition of the Martin Luther King
Jr. holiday.
Thelma Williams, and her
caregiving daughter, Lynda Will-
iams stood on the front porch of
their North Albina Avenue home in
early January to welcome the assis-
tance they received from the Neil
Kelly Co. and the Community En-
ergy Project.
Cold air gusts through the small
house due to a common problem
afflicting many older Portland homes:
poor insulation, especially around
the windows.
The home is just one of hundreds
that are serviced every year through
the non-profit Community Energy
Project, but in this case, much more
extensive repairs were needed be-
yond what the agency can normally
afford.
Thanks to Neil Kelly, the lead
contractor to volunteer, along with
Clean Energy Works and Energy
Trust of Oregon, the home will get
weather proofed, making the rest of
the harsh winter months more bear-
able and less costly.
Later this week, dozens of pro-
fessional workers will volunteer to
help fix the aging roof, drafty win-
dows, and other structural prob-
lems.
Without this kind of public/pri-
vate collaboration, many homes,
especially black-owned homes and
others occupied by disadvantaged
residents, would easily become too
expensive to maintain for their own-
ers.
Older community members are
especially susceptible to the dam-
ages afflicting aging homes, and
with so many young people of color
fleeing the inner city, many older
black and Latino homeowners are
continued
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