Portland Observar April 2 3 .1W1 P *8 * 3
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From the Capitol
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Congressman Ron Hyden
Q. Congressman Wyden, this
week you said that elderly
Oregonians might be forced into
nursing homes i f Congress approves
cuts in senior programs currently
proposed by the administration.
Why?
A.
Because many o f the
programs currently slated fo r the
chopping block are the very
programs which help keep seniors in
their own homes - and out o f
nursing homes.
M e d ic a re : Take Medicare fo r
example. The A d m inistration has
proposed repealing Medicare
amendments which would compen
sate senior citizens fo r physical
therapy and home health care.
W ith o u t such support, many
Oregon seniors may have no alter
native but to enter a nursing home.
From a fiscal standpoint, as well
as a humane one, this simply does
not make sense. A recent study ot
one Oregon county by the Oregon
Department o f Human Resources
showed it cost less than half as much
to keep seniors at home by
providing them w ith food stamps,
SSI benefits, medical care and home
maintenance services as it does to
institutionalize them. Other studies,
on both a local and national level,
have also shown that it is far more
cost-effective to keep seniors in their
own homes as long as possible.
L o w -In co m e Senior Housing:
Providing seniors with decent, low
cost housing also helps keep them
out o f nursing homes. According to
Portland housing experts, on any
given day in the P ortland
metropolitan area, a senior may be
placed in a nursing home because
there is no available senior housing.
U n fo rtu n a te ly , dhe A d m in is tra
tio n ’ s public housing budget
proposals w ill only make a bad
situation worse -- at least with re
spect to Oregon.
The Administration has proposed
cutting funding for H UD and Sec
tio n 8 assisted public housing
programs by '/ j (H U D ) to !4 (Sec
tion 8). According to Bill Hunter of
the Housing A u lh u iily o f Pot (land
(H A P ), funds are already so tight
that H UD did not provide money to
build even one elderly public
housing unit in P ortland during
1981. H unter also says H A P
currently has a waiting list o f more
than 1,700 elderly persons who w ill
have to wait an average o f nearly
two years to get a home.
The need to provide adequate,
low-cost housing for seniors is again
as much a fiscal concern as a social
one. W ith the cost o f nursing home
care approaching $1,100 to $1,200 a
month, we should do everything in
our power to keep seniors in their
own homes.
These are only two examples o f
what I consider to be the A d
m in is tra tio n ’ s penny-wise, but
pond-foolish fiscal policy.
• The A d m in is tra tio n has also
proposed cutting low-income energy
assistance and w eatherization
programs that have proven success
ful in reducing energy consumption,
lowering heating bills and allowing
seniors to avoid having to choose
whether to heat or eat.
• Furthermore, although the A d
m inistration has proposed cutting
funds for senior programs by almost
25 percent, it has proposed virtually
no cuts in adm inistrative costs for
the very same programs.
1 am committed to balancing the
budget and stopping run-away
federal spending. It is disgraceful
that we spend more federal dollars
each year to finance the national
debt than we do fo r all the health
care programs in this country.
But we have to cut fa irly and
sensibly. C u ttin g these senior
programs may save a $1 now, but if
it
results in
increased
in
stitutionalization, it w ill cost us $6
or $7 down the road. And that
doesn’t make sense.
The Legislative Com m ittee fo r
C orrections, o f Oregon State
P enitentiary, a prisoner group
working with legislative members, is
seeking the passage o f five main
bills that will improve the quality of
life within the state institutions, and
better prepare us for the transition
back to the community. These five
legislative bills, are as follows:
Bills submitted by the Legislative
Com m ittee fo r C orrections, fo r
Oregon State Penitentiary are:
1. The F am ily V is itin g B ills
which w ill provide fo r an area
w ith in the in s titu tio n where a
prisoner may visit w ith fa m ily
members in a home like setting,
spending up to 22 hours with these
members and reestablishing ties that
the present visiting system does not
allow for. This b ill is proposed so
the prisoners and their families w ill
provide the funding fo r purchase
and maintenance o f the units within
the family visiting area.
2. M e rito rio u s G ood T im e
B ill which w ill make m eritorious
good time earned through in
stitutional work or school assign
ments applicable to parole date sets.
As the good time now stands, it only
applies to some 12% o f the prison
population who do not take parole,
but instead discharge their sen
tences. This good time is earned
thru prisoners in industry, and ef
forts should have application to the
parole date set.
3. A bill to allow an inmate to be
accompanied by an attorney, and or
a medical or psychiatric doctor,
when appearing before the parole
board. In many cases there is
evidence only a professional can
properly present that which will help
the board reach a proper and just
decision.
4. The Pay Increase Bill which
w ill provide an increase in the
maximum daily pay fo r industries
and institutional workers from the
present $3.00 a day, to $6.00 a day.
There has not been an increase in
this area since 1969 and it is badly
needed to help the prisoner better
prepare fo r release thru a saving
incentive plan, and/or better main
tain their fam ily responsibility by
enabling them to send money home,
industries prisoner pay comes out of
industries profits.
B ill which w ill provide an increase
in the money persons receive when
discharged or paroled. The gate
money for many decades now, has
remained at $100, hardly sufficient
fo r a person starting again,
especially fo r those w ithout close
friends or family. The bill proposes
that a matching fund be set by the
state, whereby the state would
match the money a person has saved
upon the tim e o f his parole or
discharge, to a maximum o f
$250.00.
OUR PRESENT V IS IT IN G
SYSTEM
I f you are m arried, you are
allowed four visits in a one month
period. I f single, you are allowed
two visits a month with any one per
son. The visits are between 3 and
3l/ j hours in length that includes the
time taken to get both visitor and
inmate into the visiting room area.
When you receive a weekend visit,
visits are often terminated after only
1 >/i hours because o f the over
crowded conditions o f the visiting
room and other visitors waiting to
get in.
When your visitors first arrives,
the tw o o f them are allowed “ a
three second embrace.” A fte r the
in itia l embrace you escort your
visitor to a specific area assigned to
you for the duration o f your visit.
You are separated by a coffee table
between you. This insures that no
em otional or physical contact is
maintained. You are only allowed to
reach across this area to hold hands,
period. Any deviation from this
procedure constitutes an infraction
o f the rules, which means a loss of
your visits. You are under constant
visual supervision during the
duration o f your visit. You and your
v is ito r are restricted to your
assigned area. The only expectation
is being perm itted to use the
restroom, or to purchase refresh
ments, “ alone.”
V isitin g
room
o fficers
periodically roam throughout the
visiting room area to insure that the
“ no physical contact p o lic y ” is
being enforced. To assist the o f
ficers in enforcing this policy, the
v isitin g rooms have video tape
television cameras strategically
arranged to guarantee that the no
contact policy is enforced to the
fu llest. These cameras can also
5. The G a te M o n e y In c re a s e
Jordan discusses police activity
i<iuinued from page 1 col. 6)
ra to r’ s decision would be more
;redible if the public had the op
portunity to observe the process.
Iordan agreed, but said he was un
sure o f the requirements o f the
state’ s Open Meeting Law, how
ever, he said he would seek legal
clarification.
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Open 9 til 9
7 days a week
C itin g the responsibility that
public o ffic ia ls have to the C ity,
Jordan said he did not feel he need
ed the approval o f M ayor Frank
Ivancie before he made the decision,
“ But,” he said, “ the Mayor needs
to let the public know what he w ill
and will not tolerate in this City.”
A fter hearing Jordan’ s explana
tions, the Northeast C o a litio n o f
Neighborhoods voted to support
him.
Houses in Georgetown, the
capital of Guyuna, are built
on piles since the city is
below the high tide mark.
record all visiting room activities.
At the term ination o f your visit,
you are allowed to escort your
visitor to a designated " E x it area”
at which time they allow you to em
brace your visito r fo r a period o f
five seconds. During this period o f
time, couplts, fam ily and children
are crowded together in groups o f
about 30 people. A ll are under the
visual supervision o f one correc
tio n a l o ffic e r, one Sargeant, one
C aptain, and one executive
assistant. The above mentioned per
sonnel are constantly insisting that
your embrace last no longer than the
five seconds alloted time. They con
tin uously interm ingle w ith the
various couples to see that the policy
is being enforced. Then, you also
have the visitors who have com
pleted their embrace, or not in
volved with embracing, supervising
the others who are yet embracing.
Along with the visual supervision
o f o ffice rs present in the visitin g
room at te rm in a tio n o f visitin g
hours, to maintain a strict policy o f
the five second embrace, they
hum ilate you by herding you and
your visitor through the exit area as
fast as possible, with remarks such
as “ move it a lo n g ,” “ come on
Smith, move it ! ” These remarks are
usually in harsh, demanding tones,
all doing this at once, it makes for a
very unpleasant, upsetting a t
mosphere fo r you and your loved
ones to be forced to depart under.
WHAT IS A FAMILY VISIT?
It is a visit under normal relaxed
fa m ily setting where your w ife,
children, or other fam ily members
are able to spend a period o f time
together as a fa m ily . This visit
would be in private accomodations
w ith a yard area fo r outside ac
tivities. (Such m obile units which
are being used in various states at
this time)
This gives the inmate, spouse, and
children an o p p o rtu n ity to com
municate as a fa m ily , and show
emotions they otherwise have no
other chance to express under our
present situation. Such as not being
allowed to touch your wife’ s face. A
fam ily visiting setting is needed to
reintroduce the inmate back into a
fa m ily type atmosphere. To have
the o p p o rtu n ity to m aintain the
husband, w ife relationship; to be
able to express emotions toward one
another that you now have to
suppress; a private setting where the
two o f you are able to discuss
problems such as domestic, finan
cia l, or whatever problems the
spouse has to deal with while having
to maintain a household.
Fam ily visits would give the in
carcerated parent the chance to
m aintain the parent image to the
children; to become involved with
their problems, and to assist them in
dealing with them; to just be
allowed to hold and play with your
children and hear them laugh as you
cannot now experience, and not
have to disturb other visitors who
are crowded up on either side of you
also visiting.
Progressive prison systems such
as California, New York, Mississi
ppi, and others, have found the one
very im portant benefit generally
overlooked. It is the rehabilitative
fc «
Agencies for young and old Join forces at the Salvation Army
Moore Street Center swimming pool, when senior citizens from the
Rose Senior Citizens Center was invited to use the pool for weekly
swim classes.
OSP prisoners advocate legislation
By Chuck Hein
1
It's Good toKnouçL
at
C om e In at Your C o n v e n ie n c e
function o f fam ily visits. This is ac
complished through the strengthen
ing and maintenance o f the inmate’ s
fam ily ties. You can incarcerate a
person fo r just so long, as ap
proximately 97% o f the people that
are sent to prison by society, w ill be
returning to that same society...a
fact that cannot be changed. So, the
inmate can re-enter society as a
bitter, depressed, angry, frustrated,
unwelcomed in d iv id u a l w ithout
friends, fam ily, a home, a positive
attitude or finances. I should not
have to explain the outcome o f a
person in that frame of mind, or the
ex-offender can re-enter society with
a positive attitude, friends, family, a
home, job, community acceptance,
and who is no future tax burden on
society, because the people o f that
community held out their hands to
help a fellow human being who
made a mistake.
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Betweaa JU4«t t Washingt«n
( offices also in s a lir
227*2427
a iugini ) ]
Bill Nickleberry and
Max Pittman practice what we
preach...conservation. And save
PGE customers about $110,000 a year.
This year, Bill. Willamette
Center building Manager, and
Max, the Center s Superin
tendent, along with the rest of
the PGE Watt Watching staff
will help save about $110,000
through conservation mea
sures being practiced at the
Willamette Center building
complex. PGE s headquarters.
Bill and his co-workers are
putting to use many of the
conservation techniques
we've been advising custom
ers about for more than
eight years The conservation
techniques in use include
thermopane glass windows,
insulation and weather
stripping. Since the Center
was first occupied, the air in
the building has been heated
mainly by body heat, office
machine heat and the heat
from overhead lights.
As a result of their efforts
and by making more efficient
use of construction pre
planning, Bill, Max and
fellow employees and
tenants have been able to
reduce the energy use at the
Willamette Center by 12 per
cent, or almost 3 million
kilowatt-hours. At today s
rates, that's a savings of
almost $110,000 a year
Savings that are more impor
tant now than ever before
Electricity costs are going
up everywhere, it's not just
here Both private and public
utilities throughout the
country are facing soaring
costs Higher equipment
costs, fuel costs and interest
rates have everyone on a
tight budget And the rapid
increase of new residential
and business customers in
the region is another strain
on existing supply
But, at PGE, we are
fortunate to have people like
Bill and Max working hard to
keep costs down for
customers wherever they
can People who care
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People w«1 cost-saving
« le i» lor you