Page 6 Portland uoserver, M ay a,
ip q h
__________
Stan Kahn
For Mayor
METROPOLITAN
• Support small business
• Promote neighborhood
development
• Increase livability and safety
• L im it downtown subsidies
• Oppose large-scale annexation
• Shelter the homeless
U F tackles rise in teen pregnancies
H Y Lanita Duke
GRASSROOT NEWS, N .W .—
The women'» section o f the Black
United Front has launched a
Teenage Health Care project which
is aimed at pregnant and sexually
active teenagers, both rrale and
female.
According to Linda Johnson,
Western Regional Coordinator for
B U F, every chapter o f the national
Front will institute similar projects
throughout the country. " W e are
now working to put meat on the
bones o f our project by seeknig
volunteers to assist in counseling,
health care and n u tritio n ."
The project w ill identify agencies
in Portland, refer the teenager to the
appropriate agency and provide a
direct follow through. “ It is im por
tant to make sure the link on the
chain is not bro ken ." Johnson ad
ded.
The birthrate for unwed white
teenagers has risen by 45 percent
while the birthrate for unwed Black
teens fell 3.5 percent. Although they
fell. Black teen birthrates are still dis
proportionately high.
One out o f every four Black
babies born is born to a teenaged
mother. M ore than half are under
15. It is this national and local
reality which led to the creation of
B U F ’s project.
Johnson said she wants to ensure
the race has healthy babies for the
future. But teenage mothers are
giving birth to less healthy babies
than their older counterparts.
Barbara
T aylo r,
M ultnom ah
County Health Educator, said the
pregiant, Black teenage population
suffers physical and social risks.
"T hey have low birth rates, com
plicated labor and a higher rate of
miscarriage. The mother may also
be involved with cigarettes, akohol
or drugs."
Because o f the pressure o f in
creased responsibility, financial set
backs and educational interruption,
teenage mothers may not have the
where-with-all to raise their babies
without support.
"T h e ir special social needs and
financial pressures may make a
teenage parent more susceptible to
child abuse because o f the lack of
parenting skills," Taylor added.
She sees B U F's teenage health
project as extending a helping hand
to those who need it most— our
youth. Earnestina Cellestine, a
member o f the project, said, " W e
cannot give our teenagers birth con
trol pills and expect that to be a
solution. That is too much respon
sibility for a teenager to have. How
can we expect them to take a pill
every day when we have a hard
enough time getting them to go to
school every day? This project will
let our youth know that we care and
we are here to help.”
LEW S LU STR E HOM ES
Sanaca S o c a 1976
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Hr Fatal Muti 4ay(*,i«g
IMIVMP • HAWI) • IHM. HID
165 J N Church St. Portland, OR 97212
Experience. Leadership. Vision.
Cw liM tina dlacuaa tha launching of tha Black U nltad Front aducation
and ra fa rra l p ro ja c t to halp taanagara
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
to the churches, the pool halls and
the schools to let our youth know
that we are here for them .”
Cellestine said, " W e are getting
back to helping each other and
bringing our community together as
a fa m ily ." Johnson is seeking
volunteers and would like parents
with teenagers in their households to
participate. She can be contacted at
the Urban League Youth Service
Center at 288-6708. " O u r future
depends on us.”
on Black males. " W e recognize the
male's responsibility in teenaged
pregnancy. I f I find a young man
with idle time, my first question
would be, ‘ H ow many babies do
you have?’ This way the male will
see that having babies just to have
them is not good for the mother,
him. that child or our com m unity."
The project w ill also distribute a
questionnaire to determine what
teenagers are thinking and what ser
vices they might need. " W e will go
CASTAGNAI
Endorsed by the
Oregon Assembly
for Black Affairs
R o b e rt J. (B o b ) C a s ta g n a
Democrat for State Representative
District 19
P <1 »... I I ’»' l'..,.l.nJ "H .11M -.1.1.41»« 1111»
P.,4 1... », I k . | . . . <
Black women gather
for support building
by Lanita Duke
GRASSROOT NEWS. N. I F . - T h e
second annual Black W om en’s
Oathering will occur Saturday, M ay
12th at the M att Dishman C o m
munity Center, from noon until
Jack Burna, left, end Dave Johnaon. behind, put extra effort on
communication ea they train Mien and Hmong refugees In the Port
land are« for light Induatrial manufacturing joba through a apeclal
Portland Community College cleaa.
Refugees learn skills
An innovative program to train
M ien and Hm ong refugees in Port
land area for light industrial
manufacturing jobs may put 60
people into jobs who could not
otherwise manage the work.
The project at Portland Com
munity College, funded by a
$90,000 state grant, was written
specifically to prepare people for
jobs.
" W e think the project is the first
of its k in d ." said M errily Osborn,
project director.
A
refugee
placed
into
the
program will spend eight hours a
day for eight weeks to learn the
required skills. T w o o f those hours
are spent in an English class and the
remaining six are practicum hours
where they learn about the tools and
simulate an assembly line approach.
The magic to the program, accor
ding to Osborn, rests with the in
structors. "B o th instructors have
put in a lot o f time and effort to
make the training relevant," she ex
plained.
The English classes, for instance,
use a curriculum to teach the people
from the H ig h lan d /L ao areas how
to enunciate clearly when applying
for a job. Ann Blackham works
hard to get every student fam iliar
with job related English.
A t the same time, a job developer
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is working with the students to start
preparation for an actual job search.
The first five to complete the
program now have the individual
assistance o f job developers for
placement purposes.
Back in the assembly area o f the
project, located at the college's
Stadium Center, instructor Jack
Burns and his assistant. Dave John
son, put extra emphasis on C om
munication. They start with ex
plaining the construction o f the
product, then draw it as a class.
Students learn about shapes as
they work through an assembly line
production of planter boxes. A t the
same time, they learn how to work
with sheet metal, wood, plastic and
formica.
In addition to the assembly line
production, Burns took the class to
the college's Southeast Center for a
week o f work and they constructed
some cabinetry.
When a student completes the
program, PCC assembles a folder of
inform ation. It includes polaroid
shots o f the student at various
machines, a letter explaining the
tools used and skills learned, and a
certificate of completion.
Local 16 o f Sheetmetal Workers
provided the work benches and all
the sheet metal equipment to help
the students learn a trade.
™ ™ " " g " /? /™ ™ ™
5:00.
But just what is the Black
Women's Gathering? Committee
member Avel M ayfield answered,
" I t is a time and place to network
and build support structures for
Black
women
in
Portland.
Providing support for each other is
important with all the pressure on us
as women and on our com m unity.”
M ayfield said she viewed this
support-building network as a time
for healing and relaxing. This is the
second annual gathering and last
year. M att Dishman overflowed
with inform ation, entertainment
and food. This year, M ayfield and
the committee expect inform ation to
be just as vital and at least 500
sisters, young and old, to par
ticipate.
"T h is event will destroy the myth
that Black women cannot work
together. We can and will continue
to do so."
The event will celebrate “ Our
being,
spirit
and
survival”
organizers said. Free male babysit
ting will be provided and entertain
ment will include the million-dollar
Grandmother and performances by
Sojourner Truth Theatre and female
members o f the Jazzmin Com-
munity Marching Band.
News for and about
you.
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AVEL MAYFIELD
for this year's gathering is summed
up in the words, spirit and meanings
of a 1980 poem by James Siler:
The first line is your soul
And your beauty
Your compassion
Your warmth
Your love
Your endurance
Your fortitude
Your pride
You
Mother o f my people
Daughter o f my tribe
My divine sister
Ten thousand African queens
Black women I love you
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The unique aspect o f the Black
Women's Gathering is the open
mike. " I t provides an opportunity
for new ideas, businesses and
women in the community to in
troduce themselves. W e think o f it
as the perfect avenue for net
w orking.” M ayfield stated.
The Black W om en's Gathering is
free and the committee encourages
women to bring a dish. The theme
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C andidate fo r S ta te R epresentative
D istrict 18
Í
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•
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This election is about courage to stand and fight for the rights of all people to
chose. I am standing end fighting for your right to chose the person you want to
represent you in District 18. Courage is the first of human qualities because it is
the quality which guarantees all the others.
Rem em ber to V o te Harold W illiam s, M a y 15,1964