Grant aids services dedicated to disadvantaged
■ Local groups receive
federal aid for low-income
and homeless citizens
By Sara Lieberth
Oregon Daily Emerald
Lane County residents facing the
challenges of low-income house
holds or homelessness got a boost
this week when a $678,151 federal
grant was awarded to area agencies
to continue serving disadvantaged
* populations in the coming year.
The Human Services Commis
sion, which submitted the grant
application last year, is an inter
governmental organization that
has served Eugene, Springfield
and surrounding Lane County ar
eas since the early 1970s. The U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban
Development delegated the grant
funding for four community pro
jects as part of the county’s award
winning “Blue Ribbon Best Prac
tice Continuum of Care.”
The programs include The
Homeless Youth and Young Parent
Housing project, The Shankle Safe
Haven program, the Family Shelter
Homeless Children’s Respite and
Transitional Support Program and
The Housing Scholarship program.
Despite not receiving all they
had petitioned for, commission
program manager Steve Manela
said he was especially pleased with
the announcement on Monday.
“These are significant pro
grams,” he said. “They target pop
ulations that wouldn’t normally be
addressed through other services.”'
Manela indicated that as each
of the four programs were already
successfully serving the local
community, their renewal was
critical to continued attention be
ing placed on the issues of poverty
and hunger.
As a counselor at the Shankle
Safe Haven housing service in
Glenwood, Gail Lewis said the in
dividuals she serves desperately
need the “last resort” brand of as
sistance her office provides, as
they are most often both homeless
and mentally ill.
“A lot of the folks we help are
unable to even be placed in other
Revelers resolve not to resolve
■ Those who make New
Year’s resolutions often fall
back into bad habits
By Simone Ripke
Oregon Daily Emerald
Every year, at the stroke of mid
night on Jan. 1, thousands of people
pledge to leave bad habits behind.
But even though this new year
marked a new millennium, the
dawn of another century failed to
inspire many University students
to make, or keep, any New Year’s
resolutions.
Martha Jones, a senior majoring
in biology, said she makes easy-to
achieve New Year’s resolutions
every year.
“I tend to make ones that tend to
be almost impossible not to do,”
Jones said.
She said she pledged not to drop
Resolutions for a
healthy new year
Give up smoking or help someone
else stop.
Practice safer sex.
Talk to your kids about alcohol
and drugs.
Happy new year and happy new
you! Exercise is the key.
Schedule a complete physical ex
amination.
SOURCE: American Medical Association
out of high school during her se
nior year, and her goal for this year
is to avoid setting any large fires.
Jones said she makes the same type
of resolution every year and did not
make any bigger resolutions just
because it is a new millennium.
Colin Romer, a junior journalism
major, has made New Year’s reso
lutions in the past but did not make
any this year. He said although he
has goals for the new year, there
was nothing in particular he want
ed to change about his life, and the
majority of his past resolutions
proved to be difficult to stick to.
“Usually when I make them,
they don’t come true,” he said.
* Romer said he has tried to ad
here to a regular exercising rou
tine, only to see himself give up af
ter two weeks.
“I never follow through,” he said.
One resolution, however, did be
come a success for Romer. Years
ago, he decided to quit smoking and
actually stuck to his resolution, he
said. The key to success is keeping
his resolution to himself because
talking about it makes him feel he
is working on reaching his goals
when he is only discussing them.
Lane County programs to benefit from grant
Homeless Youth and Young Parent
Housing project addresses transi
tional housing for 90 homeless
youths and young parents ages 13
21.
ShankJe Safe Haven program pro
vides housing for 130 people with
mental illnessincludinga 12-bed
residential facility and a 20-person
day program run by lane Shelter
Care.
Family Shelter Homeless Children’s
Respite and Transitional Support
Program provides 170 homeless
families with children support ser
vices, housing and respite care.
Housing Scholarship Program offers
24 homeless families with children
and 12 homeless individuals a
chance to earn monthly rent subsidy
by attending educational or voca
tional programs.
SOURCE: Lane County Human Service
Commission
facilities,” she said. “Most can’t
succeed in more structured envi
ronments where they have to
jump through hoops.”
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Data taken from 1998 UO Health Center Survey.