Page 8, Portland Observer, April 22, 1987 Black Doctor Demands Child Abuse Action by Ron Harris Teenage pregnancies m ay be the nu m be r one social problem fa cin g Blacks in A m erica, b u t child abuse and dru gs are an inseparable part o f the situ a tio n "Y o u c a n 't really talk ab ou t teenage pregnancies w ith o u t talking a b o u t d ru g s and c h ild a b u s e ," says Dr B u rn e tt Rucker " I'v e seen to o m an y cases w h ere d ru g s and child abuse w e re the m ore serious pro blem c o n n e c te d w ith teenage p re g n a n c y ." Dr R u cke r's m edical p ra c tic e in Los Angeles b ring s him in to co n s ta n t i o n ta c t w ith a large nu m be r o f black teenage prenancies and w ith th e pro blem s th a t fo llo w after yo u n g girls have childre n He says th a t the s itu a tio n has n o w rear hed ep id em ic p ro p o rtio n s in m ost urban Black com m u nitie s "We' •• g o t to un d e rsta n d w h .it is ha ppening in the streets, he says I veryw he re you tu rn yo u n g girls are given free dru gs to get them hooked, usually on cocaine Then tfiey have to start paying for m ore and the only w .iy they can do this is to tu rn to p ro s titu tio n They ge l pre gn ant, have the chilrf to co lle ct w elfare, and then use the m on ey and fo o d stam ps, not for the ch ild , fiu t to buy m ore drugs " I kn o w .1 num ber o f cases where childre n were even taken o u t on the streets tiy the m o th e r* .is they c o n tin u e d their p ro s titu tio n The kids are exposed to every k m il o f vice The d ru g pro blem is so severe in som e areas that Dr Rui ker has had to deal w ith parents w h o i an no longer a llo w teenagers <u cess to their hom es The pa ren ts have com e ho m e to fin d even the tele visio n stole n by one o f their o w n children, sold for as little as $5 to pay for drugs Dr Rucker adds that d ru g p ro g ra m s are not w o rk in g and are so over c ro w d e d that m any you ng ste rs c o u ld n 't get in if they w a n te d to A n d the m a jo rity o f kids w h o do go th ro u g h these program s to dry o u t lo r a w hile usually end up ba< k on drugs, so m e tim e s in a m a ile r o f days He says tha t even in cases w h e re a teenage m other is not in volve d w ith d ru g abuse, children are rarely g ive n proper care by their you ng m othe rs R ev C o llin J o n e s , o f C epe T o w n . S o u th A fr ic a s p e a k s to p a r tic i p a n ts o f a te a c h in o rg a n iz e d a ro u n d S o u th A fr ic a n lib e r a tio n " T o o o fte n , it's the g ra n d p a re n ts or relative s o f th e c h ild w h o co m e to m e in despair ab ou t w h a t to do. In m ost cases, they are the ones w h o end up lo o kin g after the child "F o r som e you ng m othe rs, having a ch ild is seen as a passport to sur vival It seen as a way o f liv in g o ff the state w ith o u t h a vin g to w o rk By the tim e a g irl is eighteen or nine te en , she's g o t three childre n, is in som e cases c o lle c tin g alm ost $2000 m o n th in w e lfa re fax free and is g e ttin g free housing "Y e t these m o th e rs are not prepared for all the resp on sibilitie s o f lo okin g a lte r childre n They w a n t to go o u t and have a g o od tim e They w ant to spend their m on ey on clo th es and e n te rta in m e n t and in m ost cases the chil dren suffer O fficial figu res for ch ild abuse in the Los A ngeles area have m ore than d o u b le d in th e last 3 years risin g to 80 (XX) re p o tte d < uses in 1985 But m any in sta nce s go un re p o rte d , p a rticularly w h e n these in volve drugs or sexual m o le sta tio n The sam e pa tte rn is em e rg in g in m o st urban areas across A m em a Dr Rucker m aintains tha t not enough is being done to c u rta il the pro blern " I t is n o t e n ou gh for law en forcem e nt and soi ial serve • agenc res to act after a child has been abused W e sho uld be w o rk in g to understand the u n de rlyin g causes for increasing f h 1 abuse W e have to be look .mi seriously at w tia t w ill heal the sen ial problem on a broad si ale In p a rt th e n * is s im p ly a l.e k o f in fo rm a tio n a b o u t d ru g s o fte n d o n o t k n o w h o w d ru g s w ill rav i |e th e ir liv e s Y o u n g p e o p le A n d m a n y Hl.e k you ths, tro ys a n d g irls are u s u a lly ill e q u ip p e d to u n d e rs ta n d h o w th e y r an s u rv iv e a n d m a k e a g o o d life fo r th e m s e lv e s "C h ild abuse is no longer |USI a m o ra l q u e s tio n o f rig h t and w ro n g It It n o lo n g e r a gin short a g u e stm n o f w h e th e r co u n tie s , lives m jo io g t .. be m in e d before they even have a change a b o u t t h e s i t u a t i o n o t t h e R I . u k m a jo r ity u n d e r th e a p a r th e id s y s te m o f th e m in o r it y w h ite re g im e P h o to by Hu h a rd J B ro w n P O R T LA N D C LE A N IN G W O R K S G a so lin e P rice s In cre a se SPRING S P E C IA L M an s 3 pc suit M an s 2 pc suit $5 25 $4 50 G asoline prices have increased sine e C h ristm as a cco rd in g to the O regon A A A Easter Fuel Gauge Survey Gasoline prices tiave risen an a v e ra g e o f five cents per ga llo n in the al m ost fou r m o n th s th a t have passed since the C hristm as survey was con Dress $4 00 b up Pants b Slacks $1 75 TOPX S p e c ia l p ric e s g o o d o n d ry c le a n in g O N L Y ' M ust pick up w ith in 30 days Ha» bee n » e rv tn y th e N o rth a m t N o rth e a s t C on i ’ t,i fo r 20 y«4H» 0<V c le a n in g la u n d e re d »h.rts a lte ra tio n s fast servK e Dry Cleaning You have t r ia d th a ra » t Now H o u r* try th e M o n th ro u g h Frt HAM A s k f o r N r l l i « o r Franc a t B e st Sat d u cte d Over the Easter holiday w eekend, fu ll service cash cu sto m e rs paid an average of 94 cen ts per gallon for regular ga soline 99 ce n ts per gallon for unleaded and $1 07 per gallon for super unleaded A verage prices at the m ini service pu m ps w ill be 80 ce n ts per gallon tor regular gasoline. 89 cents per gallon for unleaded and $1 00 for super un leaded C redit card custo m e rs w ill pay an average o f 5 5 i ents per gallon m ore 6 30 f ‘ M 9 AM 1P M 3954 N. W illia m s A ve. 282-8361 DUPLICATION • AUTO • TRUCK • MARINE • AIRCRAFT • Convertible Tops - Carpets Boat Tops All Types O> Repairs Landau Tops Complete Intenors 203-1620 (S p e cia l C a rp e t Sale $95.00 (O n e D a y S e rv ic e ) P R IC E S S T A R T IN G Convertible Top Body Side Molding Headliners Vinyl Tops Tonneau Covers Seat Repair $225 00 $30 00 $110 00 $9^ 00 $96 00 $30 00 Price Includes Installation 5510 N INTERSTATE — PORTLAND, OR Fraud On O ld e r P e o p le O lder persons are o fte n targets o f fra u d schem es As w ith people o f all age gro u p s, seniors can be m an ip u la te d in to m a kin g de cisio ns based on greed, de spe ration , carelessness or naivete Con a rtists get rich w hen they fin d o th e rs in th is state o f m ind 1 Be ca u tio u s w h e n c o n tra c tin g for hom e repair service pa rticu la rly if the w o rke r so licite d yo u Before pa yin g fo r the jo b inspe. t their w o rk to assure yo u rs e lf it has been p ro p e rly p e rfo rm e d Pay o n ly in in sta llm e n ts and n e v e r w ith cash Ask for old pa rts or e q u ip m e n t to asi e rta in th a t io place m ents w ere a ctu a lly installed 2 Be susp icio us o f w o rk at ho m e schem es advertised in new spapers and m agazines w h e re you are o b lig a te d to send yo u r m oney in advance for a starter kit 3 Check out o rg a n iza tio n or in d ivid u a l so licitin g you to r fu n d s 4 Never let strang ers urge you in to w ith d ra w in g large sum s o f m oney regardless o f their credentials 5 D o n o t reveal fin a n cia l affairs m arita l status or b a n kin g practn es to anyone unless you can c o n firm the le g itim a cy o f their in q u iry Do not tie to o le d by take business r a id s or p ro fe ssio nal appearan. es 7 Bew are o f th e hank exam iner stragers w is h in g to share lost or g a m tilin g m on ey w ith you the fu rn a ce in spe cto r nr any hig h pressure salesperson Hernetier sw indlers m ay tie m en or w o m en are usually very personable and c o n v in c in g the kind o f person you w o u ld be w illin g to tru st on short noli« e