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VOLUME XIX NUMBER 47
‘7 he Eyes and The Ears of the Community’
ERVER
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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.
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renters and makes that interest money
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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)
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“ 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.