Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 1989)
¿IVw » « 4 < V <*** < M rs . F ra U n iv e r s i Eugene, i * PO R TLfl? VOLUME XIX NUMBER 47 ‘7 he Eyes and The Ears of the Community’ ERVER 25< NOVEMBER 30,1989 Housing Panel Seeks Aid For Low Income Families SALEM--Faced with shocking figures on the number of homeless families and children on Oregon’s streets this winter, a Legislative panel went to work this week seeking more funds and better methods for caring for them. The group, the Legislature's Interim Housing Committee, met at the Capitol on Wednesday to set its agenda for the coming months and to discuss, according to Com mittee Chair Judy Bauman, new efforts to provide housing for low income families. “ One of the things we heard today is that an estimated 1600 Oregon families are going to be caught out in the cold this winter,” said Bauman, D-Portland. “ that is simply not acceptable either to the Hous ing Committee or to any Oregonian.” " A lot of jobs here don ’ t pay enough to allow those people to afford decent hous ing. Although the federal standard is 30 percent, we have families that spend over 50 and as much as 70 percent of their monthly income just to keep a roof over Columbia Villa . . . A New Community Just more than a year ago, the Co lumbia Villa community was rocked by the first drive-by gang killing in Oregon. That tragic event served as the catalyst for the development o f a unique network of social and govern ment services targeting the needs of the residents. The Housing Authority o f Portland (HAP) teamed up with Multnomah County, the City of Port land, the State o f Oregon, United Way, and the Portland Public Schools to bring needed services on-site to help the residents, such as the Sheriff's Safety Action Team, the University Park Recreation Program, and the Mainstream Drug and Alcohol Coun seling for Youth. HAP staff and the Safety Action Team are often the first to identify problems within a family that could be preventing the family members from keeping a Job, attending school, or being a good parent They work with the appropriate agencies to refer the families for helping services, such as the Bureau of Labor and Industries Job Corps, the Multnomah County Health and Field nurses, and the Youth Gang Task Force Outreach Workers. The goal is to address all areas o f the peoples’ lives that may be encourag ing them to be involved in gangs, illegal activity, or substance abuse. The response from the residents o f Columbia Villa and Tamarack has been slowly building, as they become more aware of the options available to them, such as the Private Industry Council and the Oregon State Exten sion Services. They enjoy having a more secure environment with the Safety Action Team stationed at Co lumbia Villa and are more willing to ask for help when the services are on site with familiar faces. “ Local governments have cut through the red tape and come to gether as real partners in this com munity,” HAP Executive Director Don Clark says. “ We have all worked hard to make a difference in the lives of our residents in Columbia Villa. We know it’s working.” In addition to ‘ncreas-d housing staff and on-site helping services, United Way has dedicated $129,000 to a wide variety o f youth activities at the Uni versity Park Community Center in a two year program. The State of Ore gon has invested $78,000 in Columbia Villa through a drug and alcohol treat ment program and employment coun seling and referral. HAP has also in creased activities for residents, in cluding organizing a Community Service Fair in November to help Introduce the residents to the new services available to them on-site at Columbia Villa. their heads."Baum an said one the main tasks of the Housing committee will be to monitor programs established or funded during the 1989 Legislative session. She also plans to work with state and local agencies to coordinate efforts and resources. “ Not only do we need a comprehen sive housing plan for the state, we need to coordinate agency efforts, like those of your local police department or of commu nity service agencies that provide job train ing, alcohol and drug treatment programs, and shelter,” Bauman said. “ It’s essential those programs be coor dinated to make sure there is some longev- - ity and continuity to the housing we provide to low income needy fam ilies," she added. The committee will be helping to TARY SCHOOL—Parent Coordina- implement legislation passed this year that ^ “ F° R 1HF DRUG-FREE YEARS-Trainers, Ada Reed (left) and tor» Antoinette Edward, prepares to establishes a Low Income Housing Fund, a dna Hicks (right) monitors a Woodlawn Single Parent Family during a special monitor SEL Parents and Students financial account that will provide rental re usal skills session at Woodlawn’s monday night’s class. during drug classes at Woodlawn. subsidies to low income Oregonians seek ing decent housing. Bauman explained that the new law creates a trust fund “ at no expense to the taxpayers or to property managers. ’ ’ It uses l e a r n t R ^ ’ l T 7,°" " j ” S? f EnhanCement 40(1 Woodlawn parents and their children in a two hour workshop on practicing and the interest from security deposits paid by learning Refusal skills under pressure from individuals and groups. F F 8 renters and makes that interest money FamiK P o n i r S inV° ’V C Man3ging C° nilict (H° W 10 Express Contro1 4 - “ >d Strengthening available for subsidies for low income resi library at 7220 N.E. 1 l'th C R ^ ' Woodlawn Community Agent and Chapter 1 teacher Edna Hicks in the school dents. Nov. 27th Marks 3rd Week Of Preparing For The Drug (Free) Years Classes At Woodlawn U.S. West Establishes $20 Million Credit Line With Minority Banks U.S. West has established a $20 m il lion line of credit with minority~and women- owned banks nationwide, the company announced today. The line of credit will be used for general corporate purposes and as a backup line of credit for commercial paper when U.S. West issues it, the company said. Included in the group of 34 participat ing banks are the American State Bank of Portland; Emerald City Bank of Seattle; and El Pueblo of Espanola, N.M. In addi tion, 30 other banks are participating in establishing the line o f credit. The Women’s B ank of Denver is serving as the agent bank for the agreement. “ This is a minority business success as well as a success for an Oregon company,” said Marsha Congdon, Oregon Vice Presi dent and CEO, U S West Communications. k__________ . ________ ______________/ Northeast Workforce Center To Get City Funding On Nov. 16th, the M ayor's Office announced City Council approval of fund ing for the Northeast Workforce Center. The Council approved $45,000 in the cur rent fiscal year and pledged to appropriate an additional $45,000 next year. The Northeast Workforce Center is a project of the Northeast Coalition of N eigh borhoods Jobs Committee. The Center will provide individualized information and referral to connect job seekers to job train ing and placement services. The Center will have a special focus on referrals to overcome barriers to employment such as day care, transportation, or health care services. 26 The City's funding is the first com mit ment secured for the project. The Mayor challenged other public and private funders to “ step forward as partners to get this important project off the ground." The Mayor noted that the Center complements the C ity’s goals of neighborhood revitali zation and economic development, and will help meet the City’s own needs for hiring good employees. The funding for the Workforce Center is a major goal of the Northeast Coalition and the Northeast Economic Development Task Force. It is supported by the Neigh borhood Revitalization Management Panel which endorsed the project last month. S hopping D ays T il C hristmas Michael Jordan Speaks Out On Basketball And Gangs After spending time in two NBA cities with ‘ ‘A ir” Michael Jordan, it’s easy to see why hundreds of youngsters flock to the team bus.courtside, and outside of the locker ¿uc's best ulaycis Local Entreprenuers Sells Christmas Trees To Fight Drugs And Gang Violence This year, order your Christmas tree from “ Santa’s Christmas Tree Farm,” and help fight drug abuse and gang violence. “ Santa's Christmas Tree Farm” will do nate 15% of the purchase price of each tree sold, to the "H ouse of U m oja" in Portland and ‘ ‘ Looking Glass ’ ’ in Eugene, which are gang and drug abatement programs respec tively. These #1 grade trees will be deliv ered to your doorstep on the date you spec ify. Mr. & Mrs. Waverly Davis have earmarked 15% of proceeds from sale of Christmas trees. The program has been endorsed by Gov. Nell Goldschmidt and other organiza tions. Y ou can place your order now by call ing 1-800-443-4451. We appreciate your support as we attempt to do our part in helping our youth at risk in Oregon. “ Air is a fierce competitor on the court- patience with the media, and commit- tcd ^*s soc*al responsibility mission as a professional athlete. Jordan takes great pride *n *’e>n8 a r° le model for so many youngsters and he is very quick to lend a hand or provide some special attention. Before the Bulls recent game against the Trailblazers, Jordan made himself available at the request of this writer to speak with a young gang leader (sixteen years old), who is potentially on the edge of getting his life together or drifting further into the streetlife. Consistently asked to do twenty-plus interviews per week and sign countless auto graphs, Jordan, took a little extra time be cause he really wanted to meet this young person. After being properly introduced to the young gang member, Jordan went to work like he was about to slam on Ralph Sampson or like he did against the Cleveland Cavs last year in the NBA play-offs. For those in need of a refresher course, the Bulls eliminated the favorite Cavs, who had beat them six times during the regular season, from furtherpost-season play. He was poetry in motion. In many ways, the young gang member could not believe that he was speaking and "ch illin g ” with " A ir” in the locker room before a game. He had known Jordan, his hero, only through posters and television commercials. Like “ grasshopper" on the old television scries, Kung Fu, the young man sat at the feet of Jordan to gain some (Continued To Page 6) I I ............ • .» ' if S . y j uo»« “ It is also just a part of U S W est’s commit ment to do business with minority--and women-owned firm s.” In total, the com pany will spend more than $200 million with minority- and women-owned busi nesses in 1989. The twenty-one year old American State Bank in Portland has been involved in similar credit arrangements with “ Fortune 500” companies. ‘ ‘We are extremely pleased to be working with U S West. This type of arrangement means we are able to do re gional or national business that smaller banks could not reach individually,' ’ noted Venerable F. Booker, American State Bank President and Chairman of the Board. U S West owns the regional telephone provider, U S West Communications, and other companies involved in communica tions, data solutions, marketing services and capital assets. Edna Mae Pittman On November 20,1989, Edna Mae Pittman. M.P.A., long time com munity activist and winner of several community, as well as national awards was installed as President of the National Council of Negro Women, Portland Section, Congratulations! from the Portland Ob server staff.