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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 2011)
Street roots L L L Sept 30, 2011 5 ü Ë 3 TANF, from page 4 from foster care, that to just leavethem without the supports they need to complete their journey into self-sufficiency, it ju s t makes no sense,” Post said. 'T 'h is spring, County Commissioner X Deborah Kafoury authored a resolution decrying the devastating impact the state’s proposed cuts to TANF would have on Multnomah County residents. Now three months into thé cuts, Kafoury says she expectsto see the strain build on the county’s social service partners, She’s already" heard anecdotal stories, and expects more to build as more families lose support “It will be mostly through our community partners that we will be seeing the effect of these cuts, as people lose their child care and housing subsidies. We know that people will be calling and coming to their doors,” Kafoury said. “The other areas, people are going to feel the need to help the families that have the lowest barriers and the most easily transitioned to get their numbers up. So the higher barrier families are going to have a hard time getting the services they ! nefed. “These are the families that have needs in so many other areas that we should be focusing on. Those are the folks that are going to be coming to the county. Wè’re going to be seeing them at the shelters and in line at other services,” , . Thacher Schmid is a family advocate with Bridges to Housing, which works with dozens of families across Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington and Clark counties facing high barriers to employment, housing and stability. The latest round of TANF cuts are only compounding what has; been a series of reductions to the families in their care. “All of these cufs effect different families,” Schmid said. “But when so m any fcye ls of g g D H S a r e g e t t i n g 'c u t a t t h e s a m e T i r n e i t r e a lly affects a lot of families. “Every single family has a difficult history, a unique thumbprint,” Schmid said. “For one family losing employment-related daycare is a devastating cut. For another losing the jobs program may be devastating.” “I want to emphasize that the sky is not falling, but when you spend money on programs like Bridges to Housing, or pre-SSI, you can save the comrnunity money in prisons, éniergency rooms or other areas. These cuts, I suspect, are going to come around again in other ways,’’ Schmid said. “I just hope that the people who represent the taxpayers and the voters in the state legislature can understand how important this is in that some of these çutsmay cost everybody more in the long run.” . Kafoury said the county is ready to defend its client needs in Salem. “We are not going to go down peacefully at the county. We’re really prepared to make our case at the next legislative session, and engage our legislators at a different level than in the past There’s just definitely a disconnect, between what’s going on in Salem and what people are feeling on the ground.” u .....— Individuals from more than 30 organizations county wide gather beforea TriMét board meeting in downtown Portland. Transit riders are seeking to extend the transfer times to three hours from point o f purchase on all transit modes for all daily boarding along with extending transfer time through thé evening after 7 p.m. The Fair Transfer Campaign is being led by OPAL Environmental Justice o f Oregon. For more information, visit www.opalpdx.org. Certainty By Glenn Hefley CENTRAL CITY It is all together and geometric, the world of your desires; then the wind puffs it apart like a dandelion in seed off the tips of your fingers, each dream byte caught in the current of a sundered moment. Scramble now; kitty falling off the back erf the chair. Scratch and howl and s pray. There are nt) atheists in foxholes^ and no «trangers in the cold. Awake you spend your first hight to begin your state of deprivation, not understanding how precious what you spend on nothing truly has become. Changing Lives Building Communities Creating Opportunities Glenn Hefley resides in the St. Vincent Homeless Shelter in S a n Diego, CA. This poem was selected from his book “Sleeping with Nefarious Intent, ” which is available on www.amazon.com. __ R E G IO N A L G R E E N B U IL D IN G www.centralcityconcern.org 503-294-1681 Ì , k H O T L IN E j w w W .B U X L D G R E E N 4 1 1 .C O M g 5 0 3 8 2 3 5431 W GREENHOTUINE®PORTL-ANDOREGON.GOVJ T his w om an w o rk s - In i 1 - So does Street Roots W ant to know a tittle more about y ou r vendor? Check o u t www.streetroots.wordpress.com fo r p a st articles about the m en a n d women sellin g Street Roots!
