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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2013)
SERVING Burlingame • Capitol Hill • Garden Home • Glen Cullen • Hillsdale • Multnomah Village • Raleigh Hills • South Portland • Vermont Hills • West Portland INSIDE: Celebrating 20 years of continuous Southwest news coverage! Volume No. 21, Issue No. 12 www.swportlandpost.com Portland, Oregon Southwest elementary school students get increased arts funding – Page 3 Complimentary October 2013 OHSU students share community needs assessment of Multnomah By Erik Vidstrand The Southwest Portland Post Oregon Health Sciences Univer- sity nursing students spent this past summer conducting a needs assessment in order to identify strengths and weaknesses of the Multnomah area. Utilizing U.S. Census data, along with interviews of local leaders and community stakeholders, the students- Marcus Benton, Saman- tha Leeds, Heather Peterson, and Aubrey Spring- participated in a number of community activities to witness, experience, listen, and take notes. With a population of 5,000, Multnomah is often overlooked as an area impacted by social and environmental health issues de- spite a higher median income and education level than most other areas of the city. Prior OHSU students have focused on medication manage- ment with seniors, but no overall community assessment was ever produced. “This is Phase I,” said Benton. “Our project will provide a basis from which future OHSU stu- dents can begin partnering with community agencies to generate interventions.” The four main themes found were limited healthcare access; nutrition and food insecurity; transportation issues; and social isolation. Healthcare access Multnomah has only one safety- net clinic where the uninsured can receive basic care. The Southwest Community Health Clinic, how- ever, has limited hours, and is also at maximum capacity. Many choose to not seek health care because of costs. As well, the Multnomah County Westside Clinic closed and moved to South- east causing more travel time for Southwest residents. OHSU nursing students featured on the 2012-13 catalog. (Photo courtesy OHSU) Additionally, many older mi- nority adults, Hispanic, Somalia, and Russian individuals are not comfortable or aware of how to navigate the complex medical system. Nutrition and food insecurity Most residents are unaware of the needs for those at greater risk of food issues. Food insecurity is (Continued on Page 7) Grants would help pay for new bridge, boardwalk for April Hill Park MAPLEWOOD NOTEBOOK By Melinda Hasting Special to The Southwest Portland Post April Hill Park, located on the corner of Southwest 58th Avenue and Miles Street, is poised to re- ceive a much-needed upgrade to integrate local species (amphib- ians, birds, and humans alike) due to a recent grant awarded by the Metro Council in May. The project will also allow stu- dents of Maplewood Elementary School to use the space as an out- door science classroom. The park remains a mystery to most visitors who don’t wade through mud and muck to reach Wood Creek, which flows west toward Beaverton. The unique area located to the south of the park features chorus frogs, long-toed salamanders, rough-skinned newts, and a host of bird species. The park is ripe for observation and enjoyment by students and grown-ups alike, yet it lacks gen- eral access due to the danger of trampling its sensitive inhabitants. The Maplewood Neighborhood Association expects that Maple- wood Elementary students will be able to access the park and its vast array of species as early as fall 2014. Friends of April Hill Park, a collaborative that includes The Maplewood Neighborhood As- sociation, Southwest Neighbor- hoods, Inc., and Southwest Water- shed Resource Center, convinced Metro Council to approve a grant of $83,059. The grant would help create a boardwalk, observation deck, and bridge for the popular park, but the race is on to raise $33,000 in local matching funds by Nov. 1 in order to meet permitting deadlines for the dry season construction period in 2014. Though Metro’s matching grant will not be rescinded if the No- vember 1 deadline passes, the need to achieve local support is pressing due to bureaucratic con- straints. Permitting for the project could take six months, according to experts involved in the project’s design. The construction schedule will be contingent upon weather; the park’s marshy section where the boardwalk and bridge will be erected requires mild weather con- ditions for builders to gain access. The project’s total cost is $250,000. In-kind contributions for engineering, architecture, and project management have been secured for $134,000. Construc- tion is slated to begin next sum- mer. Metro’s release of the grant is contingent upon the community’s matching contribution of $33,000. (Continued on Page 7) Don’t forget to renew your subscription. Form on Page 2. The Southwest Portland Post 4207 SE Woodstock Blvd #509 Portland, OR 97206 (Post photo by Melinda Hasting)
