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. The question is how .”
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