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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 17, 1992)
t *4 ♦ V* **4 ¥•<♦>"¥ ♦ **♦’♦- * ■ i '• W ^ ♦ ♦ ï • ♦*♦■*< June 1 7 ,1992...The Portland Observer...Page 9 Do African Americans Have The Right to Quality Mental Health Care? Today's modem American family faces a lot o f pressing societal forces which taxes the fam ily's ability to cope w ith and handle the issues, as they challenge the fam ily unit. Current top ics such as drugs, gang violence, teen pregnancies, school drop outs, domes tic abuse and unemployment, are the forefront o f the media. African A m eri cans face the additional pressures from discrim ination, hate crimes, general cultural insensitivity , and other forms o f racism. These additional factors are generally not given the attention in our society what they deserve. A more specific example o f this disregard for the needs o f the culturally diverse groups can be found in mental health and human service systems. These supports were developed ac cording to the needs o f a traditional Caucasian fam ily and their value sys tem. This does not address some spe cific cultural needs in the African Am eri can Community. It is important to understand why African Americans may not seek the assistance o f a mental health profes sional to w ork through d iffic u lt topics and issues such as these. Broadly, the reason can be grouped as culture; Tra ditionally the African American fam ily Social Security Earnings Records Getting What You Deserve BY MARTHA A. MCSTEEN Have you ever checked your So cial Security earnings record? I f not, you may want to make a note to do so. It could mean more money in your pocket down the road. Few people know that between 1978 and 1984, more than $58 b illio n in wages were not credited to the Social Security records o f an estimated 9 m il lion w orking Americans and beneficia ries. Additional errors between 1984 and 1988 raised the total to about $68 b illion . These errors are important because how much workers earn and how long they work are key factors in determin ing the amount o f Social Security ben efits. The findings came from a General Accounting O ffice report that prompted the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare to sue the Social Security Adm inistration and the Internal Revenue Service to correct those records and implement proper procedures to make sure they don’ t recur. Finally, after a four-year battle, the fig h t is over. The lawsuit has been does not seek outside intervention to address personal problems. In spite o f these barriers, the African American individual/fam ily should understand that seeking help is not a sign o f weak ness or craziness. Mental health pro viders, i.e. social workers, psychiatrists, psychologist pastors, or others trained to work w ith people, to help solve their problems. To take advantage o f the benefits o f appropriate mental health services, the African American individual/fam error can be d iffic u lt because it requires all kinds o f paperwork and rei o.ds that may be d iffic u lt or impossible to ehiain. I strongly urge a ll w orking A m e ri cans and Social Security ben. fie. ric to call or v is it their Social S c.i iity office every few years to . quest a Personal Earnings and Bene its Esti mate Statement and check their earn ings record. A little e ffo rt now could save you a lo t o f unnecessary headaches in the future. • z .• ■ e- ; <- ’>.«-> • > ,- >„■ .<•..• ¿ i ♦ > A ¡u m b o size s w e e t a n d juicy Grown in the Northwest Q $4 H 00 ■ POUNDS FOR »• S Ä ' : .. o T .A , 104 NE Russell Portland, OR 97212 282-5111 F- .¡'¿A' f' ». -_ 3 k W r-.C S * » * • —, » • « J • • «7» . • V- s i- 'V : c. ' * .'t : \ J. < » *. * I - j • • «. - • . . . .. b . Speedy Service Friendly Call for Quote! • . * • . • A ll V a rie tie s bulk clip tops A Best Cash Prices S MARIE'S DRESSING CARROTS heating oils .'.V •»»* : U: i .. D ad's Oil S e rvice ■ i - ; ' Y*''«. ■ ily must: 1. Recognize the need to get help. 2. Be w illin g to seek out and obtain help. 3. Advocate for services that may be specific to the needs o f an African American i f required. African Americans are confronted daily w ith p olitical, economic and so cial issues that directly effect their lives. It is important to identify the potential impact on an individual or fam ily and that everyone has the right to quality mental health care. M iriam Robinson is an African A m erican licensed c lin ic a l social w orker in private practice in the Port land area. settled. The Social Security A d m in is tration and 1RS have agreed to im ple ment procedures that w ill goa long way towards ensuring accuraæ and tim ely crediting o f employee wages. Equally important, the government also at .. ed to make it easier for present and past workers to correct incorrect reco i. end apply fo r any retroactive pay men is. Tor example, the agency also w ill accept a claim i f the government has a rec< id o f a person’s earnings in the year ii.m iedi- ately before or after the year in ques tion, and the claimed earnings arc > on- sistent with the w orker’s earnings his tory. ‘ Currently, correcting an earnings ( , .• $-100 $ 'J > I . $-159 13 oz. JAR EACH TOMATOES 59 HEAD LETTUCE c 39 iSP>. 0 e x tra la rg e hot house fla v o r you can ta s te POUND M iriam L. Robinson California Iceberg Variety Hand Crafted Port-O -Q ue 7 O rd e r Y o u r P o rt-O -Q u e N ow ! s ta rt y o u r s a la d s w ith lettu ce POUND PEPSI C O L A -D IE T PEPSI-PEPSI LIGHT PEPSI FREE-W ILD CHERRY PEPSI M O U N T A IN DEW -SLICE (All Flavors) DR. P EPPER -M U G ROOT BEER $80 -S. •I’ Ep I 30 Gallon r e g u la r or s u g a r fre e fla v o rs $100 55 Gallon • PEPSI PRO DUCTS • M O U N T A IN DEW • DR. PEPPER Port-O-Que 2^705 N.E. Simpson 2 8 2 -5 1 8 3 -C O R R E C T IO N - WE reserve THE FRIENDLIEST STORES IN TOWN SINCE1908 therighi SP ECIALS EFFECTIVE TUESDAY th ro u g h SUN D AY JU N E 16 th ro u g h 21. 1992 TO LIMIT QUANTITIES M E M B E R OF U N ITED G R O C E R S W O O R S ^ E R S Your Im a g o t 6800 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. P rofessional and Quality Dry Cleaning & Laundry Is Assured By Our C ourteous New M anager M arva M itchell ■. .'v UJasher fit Dryer *199- Refrioerotors From $ 1 2 9 - Open From 8 • 6 Mon. - Fri. and 9 - 4 on Saturday Ranges From 51 2 9 - We O ffe r P ro fe ssio n a l A lte ra tio n s D rapery C leaning All W e a th e r P roofing Of SkLW ear & R ainw ear 4 8 H our S hoe Repair And S p ecia lize In S ilk C lea nin g & Le a th e r G oods Open Mon.-Fri. 9:00 am to 5:00 pm 7** 0^ 10% D isco u n ts For S e n io r C itizens • • • « •» A » « f.t * .*•- I * A n I nvitation T o S hare I n McMurphy's Appliance Center W e C azo A b o u t I V* * ‘ 8 8 -3 2 3 3 S ales • S e rv ic e . P a rts • CC, C ommunity L earning C enter N .E . 42nd & Prescott, Portland, Oregon Donate A Brick In last week's edition, an error was made in the "Donate A Brick" article. It should have been $50.00 instead of $5.00. We apologize for an inconvenience.
