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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1992)
J - $5 OFF Dr. Marten Shoes w/coupon LAZAR S BAZAR 57 W Broadway 957 WiiTamette Downtown Mall STRESSED OUT STUDENTS COME USE US (even when you’re healthy) WE RE HERE TO SERVE YOU YOUR Student Health Center ext. 4441 BACK & NECK PROBLEMS? •Sports Injuries • Stress Reduction •Chronic Postural Problems South Eugene Chiropractic Center Dr. Prank F. Mu hr 396 K. 18th St. 683-9070 v/ukl Siudcnl Rales • Near t'anipus Poverty rates soar for children □Census figures show 16 percent of all Lane County children live in poverty By Tim Neff Emerald Assooale Editor Children arc replacing senior citizens as one of the most-im poverished groups both nation wide and locally, according to 1900 census figures Nationwide, 18 percent of all children under the age of 18 ranked below the poverty level in 1989 a 12 percent jump from 1979 In Lane County. 16 percent of all children fell be low the poverty threshold in 1989. Thai is up from 13 3 per cent in 1979 Al the same time, the number of impoverished senior citizens shrank In Lane County, 24 per cent of all people over 85 lived in poverty in I960. The number has steadily dropimd from 115 percent in 1979 lo 9 |>ercenl In 1989. The n uni tiers seem to con Un did the trend toward an older population. The census indicates that al though seniors are grabbing a larger chunk of the population pie. fewer am impoverished. Meanwhile, there arts more pov erty-slrickcn children in thn gradually shrinking under-1H age group Ghris Eaton. assistant planner for thn Lane Council of Govern ments, said seniors have suc cessfully fought for political changes that have Improved their standard of iiving. "The senior citizen lobbies have been successful," Eaton said, "and they are u growing voting population. Also, thero urc programs like Medicaid and Medicare that huve helped the senior poverty rate." Eaton suid the Increasing number of impoverished chil dren may be the result of de creased federal funding for gov ernment child relief agencies during Ihe 19H0s In addition, requests for help have overwhelmed both feder ally funded agencies and pri vate, non-profit support organi zations, such as the Relief Nursery in Eugene. Relief Nursery executive di rector Jean Phelps said tho compounded nature of most family problems makes her or ganization's job very difficult Poverty Is usually intertwined with a number of other issues, such us child abuse, unemploy ment, mental health and drug and alcohol abuse. "What we see are people that have many problems that have gone unaddressed," Phelps said "if pnople have one prob lem. thov generally have many We've never had the resources necessary to Impact the prob lem the way we need to." Phelps said demands on so cial service agencies have grown in recent years to the point where today, the Relief Nursery has more than 200 people on its waiting list. "We've been getting about a dozen calls a week at the Nurs ery from appropriate referrals," Phelps said. Poverty usually increases the workload for the Relief Nurs ery. which is primarily a child abuse prevention program. "It's very difficult to parent when you’re living in poverty without adequate resources," Phelps said The 1900 census data shows that in 1989 there were 10,387 children under the poverty threshold in Lane County — 20 percent of all people living in poverty. Nationally, the average pov erty rate for a household of four was SI2,674 in 1989. Food expenses, household size, number of children and annual income are used to de termine if a household is below the poverty line. MEASURE Continued from Page 12D which sponsored the measure, lias not been at lively involved in pushing it forward. "They're taking a hands-off approach," Merchant said. "They have boon honest about the fact that they are doing so because they don’t want any negative publicity while they work to pass Measure 9.” Measure 9, also sponsored by the (X:a, will ask Oregon vot ers to decide whether they want to amend the Oregon con stitution to label homosexuality Whether you’re back from summer vacation or just starting at the U of O, give EWEB a call so we can transfer your water and electric service to your name if it is not already included in your rent. We ll come and read your meter. That way you’ll only be billed for the services you use. So call EWEB today. It will give us a chance to transfer your service and say, "Welcome!” 484-6016 EWEB Eugene Water & Electric Board 500 Eaat Fourth Avonuo Office Hours: 8 am until 5 pm Monday through Friday as a "perversion." Hubert Deu Proe. chief of the Springfield Police Department, said the charter amendment has taken buck seat to the state measure. “Considering the ballot meas ure coming up for election, the whole issue is somewhat low key." Deu Free said. “Wo have had nothing noteworthy from either the OCA or the anti 20-08 group.” Other Springfield officials said thu city has not recently had even a ripple of harassment concerning 20-08. Library director Arlo Giles said there haven't been prob lems with banning books since the library accepted Untidy‘a Roommate, a book depicting a homosexual couple raising a child. "Once Ihe initial furor sub sided, we have had very littlo talk up to this point on banning books,” Oiles said. Deu Free said there have been no crime-related incidents concerning the measure aside from verbal harassment com plaints, which cannot bo prose cuted under the law. Springfield city attorney Tim Harold said nothing has hap pened as far as challenging the measure legally. Banning the bonks could have raisod a legal question, but since the library accepted the donated book, the issue has not iroen challenged. Sty£e\ Featuring: contemporary cutting • styling color weaves • manicuring perms • euopean toaots make-up • body waxing plus a ful line of beauty products ANGLES 539 E. 11th Ave. • Eugene • 343-1637 FREE Forking 11th & Patteison - between town & campus | As an introduction to Angles, bring this ad and receive ~ “ Any Product or Service \d vji i H i iu n,i ryrcj, l/hi $2 OFF A I ■— £ 539 E. Ilth Av# Eugene I L .—J (J5 00 nvrmvkgn pt#c r^M) fln»cat«rtp«pMonp(Mii T I I I
