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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 1983)
Page 2 Portland Observer, August 24, 1983 Portland's homeless, jobless highlighted by N a t b a t M Scott P o rtlan d'! third annual Hobo Parade and a forum on " T h e Plight o f the Hom e le*»," highlighted the need» o f Portland*» homeless and unemployed people Iasi weekend. The parade, with tome 200-plus participant», was led by a five-man drum corp from the Jazznun March ing Band. An estimated 800 to 1,000 people enjoyed the feativitie». which included float», marcher», music, food, refreshment» and one elected official, County Commissioner Caroline M iller. Louisa R. Stark, professor o f A n thropology at Arizona State Univer sity at Tempe, Arizona — a board member o f the National Coalition for the Homeless — was the forum's keynote speaker. She said there is a rise in the na tion's homelesi "tw o-and-a-half m illio n ," and cited two things that drastically affect the plight o f the homeless: war and the economy. "W henever we have had a war in the United States we have had a rise in the homeless." she said. "T h e second big cause is economic condi tions." She emphasized that a lot o f the homeless and jobless are alcoholics and chronically mentally ill persons and added that there are " a lot o f Vietnam veterans on our streets." The mean age. she said, is 34 to 36 years. Traditionally, the problems of the homeless have been handled by church groups which, at best, have been "bandaids," the said. Furthermore, "W e need programs to help people get back the entitle ment* they have lost, . . .T h e home- leu, in reality, are people who should be getting entitlements, but are not getting th em ." Stark's solution to the problem hinged on people. "Across the country there are thousands o f groups working with the h o m eleu ," she said "T h e stereotype in the United States is that the jobless don’t want to work. Most employ ers, when they look for someone to work, look for people who live in houses — not the h o m eleu ." Wanting a job and being able to hold a jo b are two different things. Jim Anderson, from St. Andrews Catholic Church, took issue with Stark's job outline. "Finding jobs is not a very practical solution; that’s a futile ac tiv ity," he said. "W h a t we need to do it create work where work is not being done " M ark Davis, o f the mayor's office, commented that " o f a $650,000 community budget, ap proximately $500,000 goes to pro grams related to providing housing to poor people." Davis said the city is involved in several activities that provide hous ing for poor people. The basic two programs are " to create affordable housing (and) to provide people who are poor the means to afford housing for the poor has become in creasingly scarce. Michael Stoops estimated Portland's homeleu to be 3,000. Single Room Occupancy (SRO ), for which Portland is a national demonstration city, is a "$100,000 per year program " that provides housing for certain low-income peo ple, Davis said. "There are many more homeleu people (in Portland) than we realize (e.g.) families living in cars," Oenny Nelson, co-founder o f the Sisters of the Road Cafe, said. "There is a high rise in the disabled . . . The three needs o f the homeleu are jobs, jobs, jobs.” "T h e answer it jobs. Somehow or other we have to provide jobs for people," Doug Rodgers o f Sno- C A P said. " W e (Oregon) have the highest unemployment since the Oreat Depression. And the (1983) legislature basically did not do a damn thing. W ith a $3.2 million budget, the state legislature said ‘W e couldn't help people in need.' ” Rodgers said this is "a n unloving society." And he added, not dispas sionately, that "w e need to change our attitudes towards the homeleu and the job le u .” „ Beat the heat pump. W ith a m odem natural gas furnace and central air conditioning system. Some people think of Northwest Natural Gas Company mainly as a source of highly efficient home heating. But we want you to know that when it comes to air conditioning, we also have our ducts in a row! Because a central air conditioning system- using the same ducting as a gas furnace- is even more efficient than a heat pump. ( You’ve prohahly heard about the electric heat pump: A single unit of complex engineering that tries to handle both the cooling and heating of a home.) So why not cool it for a minute, and read the following facts on just why a modem natural gas furnace combined with a central air conditioning system, may be a better alternative! First of all, your total operating costs over the life of our combination system should he significantly less than with a heat pump. And incidentally, heat pumps lose efficiency as temperatures decline. Which means they must he supplemented, usually by expensive electric resistance heat, under outside temperatures of 35° F! And, consider that the life expectancy of a natural gas furnace is at least 20 years. Often without a single repair and with no service charge for inspection. (Central air conditioning, used only when you need it, also lasts a very long time.) O n the other hand, a heat pump compressor wears out in an average of just 7 to 10 years. Not surprising when you consider it often runs non-stop for many days in winter. And then must work hard in summer, too! Plus heat pumps often require maintenance and expensive repair. And finally, heat pumps are notoriously noisy. Just ask a friend whose neighbor has one. When heating, a natural gas furnace delivers air at a temperature that feels toasty warm. A heat pump blows air that’s well below body temperature, which feels cool and drafty. There you have it. The chilling truth about heat pumps vs. our efficient, more cost effective and much more comfortable natural gas furnace and central air conditioning system. So call us, today. Ask about our 10-year financing. We prom ise to deliver sweet coolness now. But later, the savings are hound to make you warm all over! The cavings w ill make you warm alt oser.'“ NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS Bishop Tutu speaks here (Continued fro m Page I, Colum n 6) is a moral issue as much u it is an economic one. D on't let people get away with that baloney that they are there in South Africa for our bene f i t . They are there to make the maxi mum p ro fit.” He called the Sullivan principles useless. "T h e Sullivan principles moves in the direction o f desegre gating the work force. However, they are useless for changing apart heid. They are used to make apart heid more comfortable. The Sullivan proposals are asking no more than what a good employer should be doing." The strength which empowers Bishop Tutu to say his home "has one o f the most vicious systems since N aziism ," is his spiritualism and faith in what he calls "the church o f O ur Lord Jesus C h rist." “ Can you imagine what happens in a situation where people have their dignity as human beings tram pled underfoot. W e are created in the image o f God. D on't walk around apologizing for your exis tence. You are God's victory. "T h e book South Africa should have banned was the Bible. The Bible is the most revolutionary, sub versive thing when you have injus tice, oppression and exploitation.” Bishop Tutu concluded his address w ith, "There is no doubt that Black people in South Africa are going to be free. The question is when. 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