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