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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1982)
_____ Portland Observer, February 4, 1982 Page 3 METROPOLITAN-------------------------- Police complaints increase by H arris Levon McRae H ealth Help Center staff: M ary Lou M iller. Cybel Campbell. M ary Anderson, Caroline M oore. Anya Spilberg and Billie H u ntw orth provide free health service to com m unity residents. (Photo: Richard J. Brown) Providing health for the people G rassrool News. N. W— The eco nom ics o f unem ploym ent have left many fam ilies in P o rtla n d w ith o u t medical coverage. W hat are they to do i f a medical concern arises? The answer is fo un d on 4R42 N .E . Rth. This house contains the Health Help C e n te r. C o u n s e llin g c o o r d in a to r B illie H u n tw o rk explains: ’ ’ H ealth H e lp C e n te r has a fa m ily service u n it th a t provides co u n se llin g ser vices and advocacy fo r people w ho have a v a rie ty o f p ro b le m s and stresses in th e ir liv e s .” The center started u x years ago w ith a h a n d fu l o f volunteers who operated the cen ter o nly in the evenings. It expanded to 5 days a week w ith a v o lu n te e r s ta ff o f tw o h u n d re d . " R e fe r r a ls com e fro m a ll o v e r. W o rd o f m o u th , m e d ica l c lin ic s and o th e r agencies w ho are u n a ble to help a patient at little or no c o s t." A c c o rd in g to M s. H u n tw o rk stress is fh m a jo r a ilm ent a ffe ctin g many o f their patients. " T h is stress is related to the u n c e rta in ty o f the tim es. M a n y o f ,he*T>eople w ho come to us are m arginally employed or une m p loye d. I f they arc having d iffic u ltie s w ith their jobs many are unable to q u it because the chances o f fin d in g a new jo b are re m o te . People ca ll up and say th a t th ing s arc really getting tough in our fa m ily. The breadwinner is unemployed and we d o n ’ t know how to handle it. O u r answ er is a ve ry p ra c tic a l one. W e not o n ly help in h an d lin g stress but in fin ding em ploym ent.” Mrs. H un tw ork says that the fear o f fa m ily violence is spreading. " A ls o p eo ple a rc a fra id o f w ha t they may have to do to survive. We w orked w ith people w ho have held up stores and w ho have had run-ins w ith the law because they were tr y ing to p ro v id e fo r th e ir fa m ilie s . There is a desperation about the pre sent and u n c e rta in ty a bo ut the fu tu re ." A n ya Spielberg, the m edical ser vices c o o rd in a to r, elaborates on the p h y s ic a l p ro b le m s o f c lie n ts w ho com e to the H e a lth H e lp C e n te r. " W e p ro vid e emergency treatm ent and i f i t ’ s a chronic case we w ork on more long-term treatm ent. We sec a lo t o f stress-related p ro ble m s such as h y p e rte n s io n . T h is increase in blood pressure can lead to a ll sorts o f physical disorders. There are also people w ho have m a ln u tr itio n be cause they d o n ’ t have the resources fo r a balanced d ie t. C h ild abuse is on the rise along w ith sleeplessness and body aches. The greatest thing that I sec w ith the recession is that people are w a itin g lo n g e r b e fo re they approach a health care service because o f the fe a r it w o u ld cost money. When they realize that their illness has gotten so bad where they may not be aro un d next week. The illnesses th a t people com e in w ith are a lot more severe ” The people most vulnerable to the effects o f the recession are the low- income senior citizens. M ary Andcr- son o f the Health H elp (. enter talks a b o u t th e ir s o lu tio n . " W e d e veloped a n e tw o rk o f pro gram s to id e n tify and help those seniors in tim es o f c ris is . T h e re ’ s a p ro je c t c a lle d ’ C o ld C o n n e c tio n ’ w h ic h matches a vu ln era ble senior w ith a volunteer.” The d ire c to r, M a ry L o u M ille r , says th a t th e C e n te r can h a n d le some o f the caseload fro m o th e r agencies whicha are fo ld in g . " I n the last six m onths o u r health patients have d o u b le d and o u r c o u n s e llin g has trip le d ." The bulk o f the Health H elp Center resources is fro m v o l unteer d octo rs, nurse p ra c titio n e rs and c o u n s e lo rs . T he C e n te r is a member o f the St. Andrew s Fam ily o f C om m un ity Services. " I ’ m a n g ry ,” says M a ry A n d e r son a b o u t the c u tb a c k s in h e a lth p ro g ra m s th a t w o u ld im p a c t the H ealth H elp C enter d is p ro p o rtio n a te ly. " W e 'r e d ea lin g w ith people who have nowhere else to tu rn . We see our whole society failing. I grew up when the government said it pro vided fo r the com m on good. W e're seeing that w ho le th in g change. It makes me m ad and I say th a t I'm going to stick in here.” A nya Spielberg sees the other side o f the coin. "W e also see the spirit o f o ve r 200 v o lu n te e rs . W e have doctors who have been w ith the cen te r fo r e ig h t years. T h e y w an t an o u tle t fo r c o m m u n ity service. I t ’ s real high energy liv in g a ro u n d a ll this s p irit.” B illie H u n tw o r k receives a g ift fro m the people they serve. " I t is very m eaningful to see people want to m ake th e ir life w o rk . It's a re ward in its e lf." There has been q uite an increase over the last few weeks o f people c o m p la in in g a b o u t h arre ssm e n t from the police. Lorraine O live was stopped in her car by P ortland police w hile driving some friends home, and a short time la te r fo u n d h e rs e lf re g a in in g c o n sciousness in a P ortland ja il cell. She was d riv in g n o rth on U n io n Avenue when she pulled over to let a frien d who was rid in g w ith her out o f the car. Ms. O live then drove on and was sto pp ed by th e P o rtla n d police just past U n io n Avenue and Prescott. M s. O liv e said th a t when she asked the o ffic e r s w h y th e y had stopped her they said, "Because we fe lt lik e i t . ” M s. O liv e went on to say that the police then searched her car fo r weapons. " I got out o f the car p ro te stin g th a t m y rig h ts were being violated and I was to ld to get back in the c a r." The officers then issued Ms. Olive a tra ffic cita tio n fo r not having lia b ility insurance. " B y this tim e I was so mad I just tore the ticket u p .” O live was ordered o ut o f the car by police and to ld th a t she was un der arrest fo r litte rin g . " I was dragged fro m the c a r,” Ms. O live said. "T h e y roughed me up and to o k me d o w n to w n . I blacked out before I got upstairs to ja il. I woke up in a ja il c e ll." Ms. Olive called a g irlfrie n d to tell her what was happening to her, and her ordeal continued. " I was on the phone when the o f ficer w ho arrested me came in and snatched the phone. He then threw me against a w all, sp litting my head o p e n ." A w h ile la te r M s. O liv e was taken to P ortland Adventist H ospi tal where the attending physician re fused to take pictures o r X -rays o f the bruises. " H e just stitched up my head and refu sed to g ive me any pain m edication,” Ms. O live said. She was then taken back to ja il .and subsequently released. A cco rding to the P o rtla n d Police rep ort Ms. O live refused to get o ut o f her car when she was to ld that she was under arrest fo r m u tila tio n o f a tr a ffic c ita tio n and o ffe n sive litte r ing. The o ffic e r started p u llin g Ms. O live fro m the car and she resisted arrest kneeing him in the groin. By the tim e the o ffic e r got Ms. O live o u t o f the car she was k ic k in g and screaming fo r help. The door o f the police car was opened and Ms. O live s ta rte d to get in b u t g o ! b ack up com plaining o f m istreatm ent. A fte r a d visin g her to be seated th re e o r fo u r times, the o ffic e r placed his left hand in Ms. O live ’ s stomach, a pply ing pressure where she bent fo rw a rd in to the car. She c o n tin u e d to ver b a lly abuse the o ffic e rs , the police report said. L on nie N ettles is a nother person who tells o f a gruesome ru n -in w ith the p olice. She was rid in g to w o rk las, m o n th in a car d riv e n by her friend Jeffrey Ca-sin. They had just com e o f f o f In te rs ta te 4 05 , ju s t south o f d ow ntow n P o rtla n d , when they were sto p p e d b y B e a v e rto n police. C a-sin p u lle d over and suddenly there were five other police cars on the scene. They were ordered out o f the car by gun point. “ One o f them was pointing a gun right at the w ind shield o f the car. I got out screaming in fear fo r m y life . One o f the o f f i cers re-aimed his gun and to ld me to ’ shut u p ,’ ’ ’ Ms. Nettles said. Ms. Nettles and Ca-sin were made to lie face d o w n in the snow w ith th e ir hands c u ffe d b e h in d th e ir backs. " I lifte d m y head up and one o f the o ffice rs ordered me to ’ get your face back down in the snow ,’ ” Ms Nettles added. "T h e n my hand was h u rt b adly as one o f them trie d to p ick me up o u t o f the snow by the h andcuffs.” It was o n ly a fte r N ettles and Ca- sin were placed in sid e o f separate police cars th a t they were to ld they were suspected o f rid in g in a stolen car. “ J e ffre y ’ s fo rm e r g irlfrie n d had reported the car stolen, even though he had purchased the ca r,” Ms. N et tles said. Eye-witnesses confirm ed Ms. N et tles’ story. Ms. Nettles and Ca-sin were taken d o w n to w n to a " h o ld in g ro o m ” in the d ete ctive d iv is io n o f the P o r t la n d P o lic e B u re a u . M s. N e ttle s tried to convince police officers that she was h u rt and alleges th a t she spent tw o h ou rs in a ce ll d rip p in g wet w ith the h a n d c u ffs s t ill o n . Eventually both Ms. Nettles and Ca- sin were a llo w e d to leave. N e ith e r was charged w ith a c rim e at the time. The P o rtla n d p o lice re p o rt does n o t go in to great d e ta il a b o u t the stopping o f Ms. Nettles and Ca-sin. It says only that they stopped a stol en v e h ic le and o rd e re d the d riv e r and passenger o u t o f the v e h ic le . B o th were h a n d c u ffe d and tra n s p o rte d to the P o rtla n d P o lice D e partm ent, the police report said. In another incident that is hard to und ersta nd , F ra n k G aston Jr. and his friend L a rry Jones were stopped fo r speeding by P ortland police o f f i cers at NE 23rd and A lberta. Gaston was fo u n d to be d r iv in g w ith a suspended license. As the police were issuing Gaston his c ita tio n , passing d riv e rs were b low ing their horns and yelling ou, o f windows. "T h e officers were yelling back at the cars. A car w ould go by honking and th e y w o u ld y e ll, ’ G o screw y o u rs e lf,' ” Gaston said. A fte r Gaston was given the c ita tio n , the police to ld him it was a ll r ig h t i f L a r ry Jones d ro v e his car home fo r him . "In s te a d o f checking L a r r y ’ s l i cense before he started driving, they waited u n til he got tw o blocks away and then they stopped h im , " Gas to n s a id . " T h e n th e y gave h im a ticket fo r d rivin g w itho ut a license." The P o rtla n d P olice re p o rt says that Gaston was stopped fo r speed ing and was found to be d riving w ith a suspended license. Jones was not {Please tu rn to page 5 colum n J) Students earn service awards Treat A Kid To Popeye's Famous Fried Chicken Hil My name is Orlanda I'm smiling because my Mom is bringing home some Popeye's Chicken. I love Popeye's Chicken. Popeye's has everything I like —corn dogs, pop, french fries and chicken tacos. Put A Smile On Your Kid's Facet 3 Locations To Sarve You: 5949 N.E. Union Ave. 3120 N.E. Union Ava 283 9642 281 2628 2320 S.E. 82nd Ava. 774-9861 C h a i V ang and A n a B o r re ll, Roosevelt students who came to the U nited States as refugees w ith their parents, have been chosen Student V o lu n te e rs o f the Year by Bess Kaiser H ospital. Chosen A d u lt V o l unteer o f the Year was Cora Lou Di- P ie tro o f N ortheast P o rtla n d , who has given 4.7(H) hours o f volunteer service to the hospital. C h a i, fro m Laos, and A na, from C ub a, received aw ards fro m Betty Perkins, director o f volunteers, at a recent ceremony. A ttending the cer em ony were A n d y P ie n o v i, earcer education c o o rd in a to r, and George G a la ti, vic e -p rin c ip a l o f Roosevelt H igh School. T he tw o student a w a rd -w in n e rs were chosen fro m P o rtla n d -a re a stu d e n ts w h o w o rk as v o lu n te e rs after school or on weekends, receiv ing credit from their schools. Chai and Ana, in a dd itio n to rou tine duties perform ed by volunteers, have been h e lp fu l in interpretin g in L a o tia n and Spanish fo r h o s p ita l patients. Lon g-service pins fo r 4,000 vol unteer h o u rs w ere g iven to C la irt Inglesby, N o rth P ortland, and Cora L o u D iP ie tr o o f N o rth e a s t P o r t la n d . L o is H ughes o f C edar H ills and Jean R ider o f O v e rlo o k neigh borhood received 3,000-hour pins. THIS SALE IS WHITE HOT. Its all these phones,all at savings up to 23% during our White Sale, now til Feb. 7 Come get ’em while they're hot f?haneCentetjgtojTe @ Downtown-2 0 8 S.W Fifth • Mall ¿05 • Clackamas Town Center • 1237 Lloyd Center • Jantzen Beach Center V iu a t ! M m m > Card «rcaissd * «ari>eaM*s'yy’HK4*e"x ‘«x-s-xi 'av'a'.iai lx A na»* an Iwci.in.'WKa»n Carp c t*at Ai 'w«<r«(»w Has
