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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 1981)
1 r s F ra n ce a S?':a?n-'.'c U n iv e r s ity o f ■ • :rt r, n ra r y Black elderly still lack mental health treatment "F e w e r than 50 per cent o f the Black elderly who are eligible ac tually participate in social services primarily because o f faulty program design, poor administration and less than effective c o o rd in a tio n ," ac cording to Dr. Delores A . Davis- Wang, president o f the N ational Caucus and Center on the Black Aged, Inc. M in o rity group members are a vulnerable popula tion. They fre- qucntly bear the ills o f a lifetime o f poverty, illness, stress and indignity. Their vu lnerability is statistically evident in their greater susceptibility to mental and physical illness and their shorter life expectancy. - There are more than 2 m illion Blacks age 65 and older, or 8 4 per cent of all senior citizens in the US. More than 55 per cent o f all Black aged live in central cities. - Elderly Blacks are more likely than whites to be widowed and less likely to be married. - Blacks’ neighborhood and housing choices are more restricted than whites’ . - In 1978 the median educational level fo r Blacks 60 to 65 was just above the 8th grade level. For Blacks 75 and older, the median educational level was slightly above "fu n ctio n a lly illerate” (fifth grade level). T h irty -tw o per cent o f the Blacks over 60 live in poverty. - Seventy-eight per cent o f Black women are poor or near poor. - Forty percent o f Blacks over 60 were employed as service workers. - In 1977 the life expectancy for Black males was 64.6 years. M ental health is a serious problem fo r older Americans, es pecially for Blacks. Persons 85 and older have the highest suicide rates and depression, the most serious mental illness, rises markedly after age 65. Mental health care for the elderly is largely lacking partially do to a bias against mental illness in medicare and m edicaid policy. Although some experts estimate that from 20 to 25 per cent o f all persons over 65 have some mental health problem, they are only 2 per cent of the private patients and 4 per cent o f patients treated at mental health clinics. Psychologists and others o f ten dagnose the elderly as "senile** and fail to offer treatment. Older Blacks and other minorities receive comparatively little service in comparison to their needs. Quite often practicioners do not under stand their special needs and there (ends to be a widespread resistance to mental health services by the Black aged because o f negative con notations and stigma. PORTLAND OBSERMER 55 USPS 959-680-855 Legislators invited to to speak The P ortland Observer w ill sponsor a series o f legislative break fasts to enable citizens to meet their elected representatives and discuss the issues before the legislature. Legislators w ill make short presentations on legislation assigned to their com m ittees, o f special significance to this com m unity, or o f interest to the legislator. A discussion period will follow. The guests for February 7th are Senator B ill M cCoy, D istrict 8; Representative How ard C herry, House D istrict 14; and Represen tative Jim Chrest, House D istrict 15. Senator M cCoy is chairman o f the Senate Committee on Human Resources and Aging and is a mem ber o f the Elections and the In surance/ Banking/Retirement com mittees. He has been in the legislature since 1973. Representative Howard Cherry, M .D. serves on the Ways and Means Com m ittee. He has represented District 14 since 1971. Representative Jim Chrest is chairman o f the House Committee on Labor and is a member o f the Education Com m ittee. He has represented District 15 since 1975. Senators and Representatives o f the northeast Portland districts will be invited to attend future meetings, as well as the leadership, chairmen o f committees hearing bills o f special im portance to the Black com m unity, and proponents/op- ponents o f controversial legislation such as the death penalty and the racial harassment bill. The no-host breakfast meetings w ill be held every other Saturday, beginning February 7th, at 9:30 a.m. at Bourbon Street Restaurant, Grand and Wiedler. Ex-offenders seek programs Jam es D eP rlest talks w ith p artic ip a n ts in the N A A C P A C T SO c o m p e titio n . D eP rlest told the te e n a g e rs . " T h e re are a lw a y s goin g to be h u r dles...th e surest w ay to ba strong Is to overcom e them ." (Photo: Richard J. Brown) DePriest launches ACT-SO Grassroot News, N .W . - Last Saturday the N A A C P ACT-SO competitions took place at the Matt Dishman Community Center. ACT- SO is an acronym fo r A fro - Academic C ultural Technological and S cientific O lym pics. It is designed to discover, develop, and reward academic achievement among Black high school students. There ar6 two areas o f competition: Arts and Humanities which range from dance to sculpture, and the Sciences, which include mathematics and architecture. The guest speaker fo r c o m p e titio n ’ s orientation was M r. James DePriest, Conductor o f the Oregon Symphony Orchestra. In his address, Mr. DePriest cited that this generation o f youths fails to have a sense o f history. "W e forgot about the people who were there when it was incredibly d if fic u lt. 1 think o f my grandmother who used to take in washing, scrub steps and floors so that her daughter could pay fo r her singing lessons. She had no idea that her daughter would be Marian Anderson. "T o d a y, there are scholarships; today i t ’ s much easier to that anyone over the age o f 50 who hears anyone young complaining from the vantage point o f h istory, can laugh...because those who came before you had it much harder, therefore, given the responsibility that is put on us, it is inescapable that we have to perform. "T h e re is no doubt the Black ex cellence in the area o f popular per form ing arts and in the area o f sports is unquestionable. The main thing to remember is that there are no doors between you and anything you want to do, but everything has its price. "T o d a y , i t ’ s very d iffic u lt fo r anyone to tell you that you can’ t and get away w ith it. This generation has a golden o p p o r tunity, and for you to realize how golden it is, talk with your parents and your grandparents. "W h e n we talk about paying dues, it’s not only important to ap preciate what other people have done, but fo r you to understand where you’ re at in a whole line o f people. You’ re not the first teen agers.” M r. DePriest concluded: “ There are always going to be hurdles, problems and d iffic u ltie s . The surest way to be weak is to talk about the problems and the surest way to be strong is to overcome them.” Members o f the Northwest Ex offenders Association demonstrated at C ity H all, Friday, January 23, protesting the bu ild in g o f a new prison and the lack of other needed projects. Nathaniel Scott, Frank Turney, and W illiam (Peter) Potter, demon strated because o f the Governor and Mayor’ s recent statements regarding a new prison and the crime rate in crease. The hostages, who wre greeted with a flyer, point to the necessity for programs within Oregon’s penal system and for others for the transi tion and re-entry phase. Transition, as some psychologists and sociologists are saying, is a long and turbulent process that requires many hours o f dedicated work. A paragraph in the flie r passed out said: " B u ild in g a new prison that will cost between $85 and $100 m illio n to be follow ed by others when those are over crowed, is to ved by The Albina Action Agency. The organizations — A lbina Ministerial Alliance, Black United Front, N ational Business League, C rib , A lb in a W om en’ s League, Portland O IC , A lbina Fair Share and Project Return -- complained that they had not been involved in he planning for the new Community Action Agency. The agency -- which w ill replace PMSC -- will serve as a conduit for federal CSA funds. The Urban League represented the old T A A C area on the planning com mittee. "T h e turbulence o f re-entry is suffered by all who have been con fined. The transition and re-entry in to society is just as crucial fo r Oregon’ s inmates as it is for the 52 ex-hostages.” Prisoners released from Oregon’ s prisons must have the same decom pression chamber and transitional help i f they are to integrate in to society and become w orthw hile citizens. I f prisons were the answer to crime and recidivism there would be no need for them. Re-direction through self-worth, not bitterness and hatred, w ill rid the need fo r many and begin the task o f rehabilitation. The Northwest Ex-offenders Association is designed to help the individual reintegrate into society through programs o f self-w orth, different types o f positive assertion techniques and the ability to interact with others. ■ < 1 w as X wOV 5, > Organizations protest CSA planning grant awards Several organizations have protested to Region X o f the Com munity Service Agency that the CSA Planning Grant fo r the proposed Portland Community Action Agen cy was awarded to PACT and that a planning grant was awarded to the Urban League fo r developing programs for the area formerly ser continue to build upon an ideology that has failed for over 120 years.” Said Frank Turney, “ The crime increase rate should not be blamed on the release o f inmates alone, because crime, the same as other aspects o f government, reflects the inflation rale.” The state owes the taxpayers a debt o f workable programs that will rehabilitate and stop releasing into society people who are more bitter than when they were sent to prison. "Blacks should be seriously con cerned about O regon’ s prison system because of the safety and the well being o f the community, as well as the disproportionate number o f Blacks sent to prison,” Scott said. Programs are needed within all of the state’ s institutions; programs designed to build self-w orth, jo b search techniques, budget planning, how to interact w ith others, and other programs that w ill eliminate hostile feelings. fl k * r jS JE £ • « -, n , I ' ‘4- * It . ï î The grant received by the Urban League is for development o f plans to serve the poor in the greater northeast. > I 1^1 Employer dues to discriminatory clubs barred The U.S. Labor Department has issued final rules setting guidelines for federal contractors who pay em ployee dues to private clubs with discriminatory membership policies, the department announced. In finalizing the regulations, the departm ent’ s O ffic e o f Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) contends that those barred from club membership because o f their race, color, sex, religion, or national origin are often restricted in job opportunities as a result. Futhcrmore, those who belong to such clubs have access to valuable business connections and promotion potential, among other advantages. OFCCP’ s rules make membership fee payment to discriminatory clubs a v io la tio n o f Executive order 11246, which protects the job rights o f women and racial, ethnic and relgious m inorities employed by government contractors. Under the new rules, employers will have the opportunity to present evidence that the payment o f mem bership fees on biased clubs does not result in business to professional advantages to subsidized employees whose fees have been paid. Subsidized membership shown to have no impact on job promotions and other benefits will be permitted. The regulations w ill not prevent contractors from dire ctly con trib u tin g to biased charitable, service or other organizations where no jo b advantage results to par ticipating employees, nor will it bar employees from maintaining mem bership at their own expense. N ath an iel S co tt, Frank Turney and W illiam (Pata) Potter demonetrete In front of City Hall on behalf of the atate’e prleonera coming out of "eap- •" (Photo: Richard J. Brown) Lincoln High School students study abroad Four Lincoln H igh School students have been selected to study abroad.Marla McLeod, daughter o f Mrs. Gail N. McLeod w ill study in Brazil and Suzanne LaGrande, daughter o f M r. and M rs. Dan LaGrand, w ill study in The P hilip pines. The sophomores are spon sored by Rotary International. M arry Wood, a ju n io r, daughter o f M r. and M rs. Richard W ood, w ill study in B o livia in the AFS program . Angela Eddy, a ju n io r, daughter o f M r. and Mrs. Rodger Eddy was awarded a year n Chile by the Experim ent in In ternation al Living. V g |9 BS g Ï
