Street roots., February 05, 2010, Image 1

Former NFL quarterback Joey Harrington focuses his gaze on Portland’s front lines
BY JOANNE ZUHL
staff writer
T oey Harrington is a guy who happens to play
. I football; not a football player. There’s a
I difference. Football doesn’t define Him, be says,
n was a career, it afforded him a nice living, but iti-
is not who he is.
Who he is is much more than the son of
University of Oregon football stars, where he
himself had thrèe years as the celebrated
quarterback of the Ducks. He is far beyond the
hype of his 2001 candidacy for the Heisman
Trophy. And today he is so much more than the
NFL could ever give, or take away.
Harrington is settling back home in Portland
with his wife, Emily, and their new son Jack It has
always been home for him and his family
throughout his career? Portland is the base for the
Joey Harrington Foundation, established.with his
signing bonus with the Detroit Lions,with whom
he played for four seasons. In recent years,
however, his cateer was tethered to one struggling
team after the riëxt — to the Miami Dolphins, the
Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints.
But Harrington’s having a much bigger impact in
Portland than he did throwing a ball in any.of those'
others towns. The Joey Harrington Foundation
supports numerous yóuth-focused groups in
Portland, including the Shriners and the Boys and
GfrlsClub, where he serves bn the board of
directors. He has joined the board of SMART
(Start Making A Reader Today), and he’s working
with Girls Inc. on their “Power of the Purse”
campaign.
Harrington is hot just the name behind thè ,
check. In his opinion, he was giveri a blessing with
his career, despite its ups and downs, ànd he wants
to give back. In addition to his other work, he both
supports financially and volunteers at the Blanchet
House, which provides meals for people :
experiencing homelessness, and on Jan 30, he did
the Special Olympics’ Polar Plunge.
fun.
5.Z.: A lot of people would have cut the check and
gone home.
J.H.: Hey — you jump in the water. If you’re
going to do it, you got do it ali the way. You know,
to be in the position I’m in today, I’ve been
supported by countless people. I’ve been
supported by the community of the state of
Oregon, by the city of Portland. These are people
who have been wonderful to me. And when I’ve
come back ih thè off-season in years past, I’ve had
a small bitnf time. I used to da a fundraiser
concert for Shriners Hospital^ (Harrington is an
accomplished jazz pianist) but I wasn’t around
enough to be involved like I wanted to give back, to
say thank you.
J.Z.: And now?
J.H.: It’s great! It gives me the opportunity to
Joanne Zuhl: Did you actually do the plunge?
Joey Harrington: Oh God.-Yeah, it was a lot of
See HARRINGTON, page 5
Camping lawsuit talks stall as new rules hang in the balance
New guidelines
for homeless
campsites could
land before
council in the
coming weeks
BY AMANDA WALDROUPE
to end the lawsuit ate not dead, and new guidelines
dictating permissible camping should become city
s oHate January, the settlement negotiations policy in two weeks.
to a year-old class-action lawsuit challenging
“I think it is quite likely that these guidelines
the constitutionality of Portland’s camping
will be the basis of a settlement to the federal
ordinance have stalled, with litigation proceeding.
lawsuit,” Fish-says.
“I had very much hoped that the settlement
Camps that are four people or smaller, out of
would be in place right now, given that it’s winter
earshot and sight of other camps or 50 yards away,
and it’s cold and people are outside and it’s
and is not loud or causing health and sanitation
miserable,’ says Monica Goracke with the Oregon - problems would be allowed on public property
Law Center, which filed the case in December
between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. The police also could
2008 on behalf of seven plaintiffs. “We and the city
not, under the proposed guidelines, enforce the
attorney’s office worked very hard to come up with anti-camping ordinance against people sleeping in
what we feel is a reasonable settlement, and! still
their cars.
hope that we can reach agreement. But we are
The guidelines would be a significant shift away
from current policy, which make it illegal for any .
fully prepared to? litigate this case if necessary.”
But the city attorney in charge of that case and
person to camp on public property; Advocates say
Portland’s current anti-camping ordinance makes it
City Commissioner Nick Fish say that negotiations
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
K
difficult, if not impossible, for homeless individuals
to get a good night’s sleep, which in turn effects
their health arid ability to take tlqe steps to find
housing.
That effect on homeless individuals- makes the
ordinance the subject of a class-action lawsuit from
the Oregon Law Center, challenging the
constitutionality ofthe ordinance on the basis that
it violates the 8th Amendment and cruelly and
unusually punishes homeless people.
For the last six months, the City and the Oregon
Law Center have been attempting to settle the
case out of court Commissioner Fish convened a
task force, led by the Portland Housing Bureau’s
Ending Homelessness Program Manager Sally
See CAMPING, page 8