Street roots
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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
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, 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
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- So does
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