. n, nafrnc y .irm—i P age A5 T he P ortland O bserver • A ugust 17, 1994 2,000 Children Expected For Clothing Drive Giveaway August 27 Candidates Needed For Contact Lens Studies The Pacific University College of Optometry is in need of candidates for a variety of contact lens research studies offered at the Pacific Univer­ sity Family Vision Centers in down­ town Portland and Forest Grove. Candidates will help researchers evaluate a number o f criteria includ­ ing the fit and comfort of new types of contact lenses, new contact lens solu­ tions, and various contact lens fitting techniques. Those who are currently wearing soft or hard contact lenses are needed as well as person who have never worn contact lenses. Candi­ dates of all ages are needed, depend­ ing on the specific subject of each study. Those accepted for study may receive free contact lens materials such as a pair o f contact lenses and/or supplies of contact lens solutions. Subjects will be required to pay a fee covering contact lens care rendered during studies. For more information, please call the Pacific University Portland Fam­ ily Vision Center at 224-2323, Ext. 402. The Low Income Fam ilies Metro Young Life representative Emergency (L.LF. E.) Center expects Chrism Rock, who tutors children; to supply clothing and immuniza­ Radical Women, a equal-rights tions to more than 2,000 children on group; Cliff Walker from Negus Saturday, Aug. 27 at Peninsula Park Studio; and the Golden Eagles Gos­ Community Center in North Port­ pel Singers will entertain during the land at 10 a.m. at the ninth annual event. L I F E. Center staff and vol­ event. Parents or guardians will need unteers have spent the past two to bring proof of each child’s enroll­ months collecting, sorting, mend­ ment in school for the clothing give­ ing and washing clothing. L I F E. Center has been serv­ away. ing the emergency food and cloth­ This year the M ultnom ah County Health Department will have ing needs of individuals from Clark an clinic on site for immunizations County in Washington and Mult­ from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., which pro­ nomah, Clackamas and Washing­ vides a great opportunity for chil­ ton Counties since 1966. For more information about the dren and adults to get required shots. Back-To-School Giveaway, contact Additional booths will include Charles Carter at 284-6878. Habitat for Humanity; Portland Steve Fletcher of Pacific University's Family Vision Center in downtown Portland works with a contact lens. The center provides eye examinations and affordable vision care to area residents. Charges for the entire family are priced on the ability to pay. The center is located at 511 S.W. 10th. Advocates Hail New Oregon Child Care Law Oregon child care advocates praised the implementation today o f a new law to build safe, quality care for young children. The law requires most family child care providers to register with the Child Care Division of the Oregon Department o f Employment and to receive training in child abuse pre­ vention and detection. The standards include lim itations in safety and group size and require criminal background checks for adults in the provider’s household. “ If this protects just one child, it will be worth the effort,” proclaimed Rep. Lisa Naito o f Portland, speaking about the bill she introduced that be­ came law in the 1993 legislative ses­ sion. “We know the early childhood years before kindergarten are critical to the developmental successofyoung children. All o f our children need safe, high quality child care.” According to Bonnie Heitsch, a parent serving on the Commission tor Child Care, “ Parents rely on basic protections and guidelines for the care of their children. Requiring providers to register won’t guarantee quality, but it serves as a platform on which parents and providers can work to- gether to improve child care.” Proponents of mandatory regis­ tration cite several developmental studies, including the 1994 Report of the Carnegie Task Force on Meeting the Needs o f the Young Child and the Families and Work Institute's 1994 findings on family child care, that group size, adult to child ratios, and the health and safety o f the care envi­ ronment each have an important ef­ fect on the quality o f care. “There is a lot o f quality care out there already, but it’s too important to leave it to potluck. Children deserve quality, and they deserve standards,” said Pat Conover Mickiewicz, a Port­ land Lawyer on the Commission for Child Care, who also advocates for improving compensation for child care providers. Mickiewicz saw a link between the quality o f child care and the qual­ ity o f the adult caregiver’s environ­ ment. She cited registration asam eans to bring all providers into the profes­ sional child care community so that efforts to improve provider compen­ sation can move forward. Registered providers gain access to opportuni­ ties in training, networks, and support groups. Judy Cooper runs a successful family child care business in her home and serves on the Commission for Child Care. She said, “In order to receive recognition for what we do for working families and employers, we need standards o f professionalism in our work.” Created in 1985, the Commis­ sion for Child Care advocates for affordable, quality child care for all Oregon children. Its membership in­ cludes three representatives o f the Oregon Legislative Assembly and 12 volunteers serving three year terms representing providers, parents, medi­ cal and legal professions, labor, busi­ ness, state and local government, re­ source and referral services, and the public at large. Mandatory registra­ tion of family child care providers was the Commission’s 1993 legisla­ tive priority with support form orga­ nizations o f child care providers, cen­ ter directors, parents, educators, re­ source and referral services, medical professionals and other children’s advocates. A Group For Women Drinking Problems A group for women with drinking problems is meeting at Town Hall, 3704 N. Interstate, Conf. Room D on Tuesdays 5;30-6:45pm. This group learns, and practices, the “New Life" program from women for sobriety, a national Self-Help Program for Women. The “New Life” program teaches women ways in which to cope with life’s problems. Women learn ways in which to feel good about self. This program recognizes that women alcoholics biggest need in recovery is to find Self-Worth and Self-Esteem to overcome the debilitating feelings of guilt. Women for sobriety has some 300 Self-Help Groups all across the country, helping women to recover from the devastation of alcoholism. To join, contact Karen at 235-0647. To receive literature and general information, contact National Head­ quarters at WFS, PO Box 618, Quakertown, PA 18951. (Please enclose a double stamped self-addressed envelope.) Alliance For The Mentally III The Alliance for the mentally 111 of Multnomah County will present the.“Joumey of Hope" a family edu­ cation course, specially designed for parents, siblings, spouses, and adult children of persons specifically diag­ nosed with serious mental illness. The twelve week free course will be in two locations. The evening class will begin on Wednesday. September 14, from 7-9:30 at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church on the campus of Oregon Episcopal School, 6300 S. W. Nicol Road. The daytime class will be held on Thursdays from 10 am to 12:45 pm starting Thursday, Sep­ tember 15, at the Rose City Park United Methodist Church, 5830 N. E. Black Men Can Get Relief From Shaving “Bumps” A morning shave does not have to be a grueling task for black men. One in three black men suffer from the condition, pseudofolliculitis barbae. “Pseudofolliculitis develops as a result of the repeated trauma of shaving," said Dr. Ted Rosen, a der­ matologist at the college “ If you shave too closely, the hair doubles back into the skin." Rosen said the problem can be minimized by shaving in only one direction with a single-edged razor, by using a moisturizing shaving cream and by avoiding electric shav­ ers. For some men. the only way to manage the problem is to grow a beard, Rosen said. A lameda. For information or to regis­ ter call 281 -8112 or leave a message at the office o f AMI of Multnomah County, 228-5692. Please do not call the churches or the school. The course will cover informa­ tion about schizophrenia, bi-polar dis­ order (manic-depression) and major depression; as well as coping skills such as handling crisis and relapse; basic information about medications; problem solving skills; recovery and rehabilitation; and self-care. The course is offered nationwide through the national, state, and local Alliance for family members. Four local Alli­ ance members with intensive training as instructors will lead the two classes. Drug Being Tested For Eye Disorder A drug used to treat genital herpes is being tested for use in battling a common eye disorder. Researchers at Baylor Col­ lege of Medicine and seven other U S. sites are testing the antiviral drug acyclovir as a treatment tor ocular herpes. C urrent treatm ent for ocu­ lar herpes does not prevent it from attacking the eye again moths and even years later, said Dr. Kirk W ilhelm us, an o p h ­ thalm ologist and d irec to ro fth e study at Baylor. “The use o f acyclovir to treat genital herpes has proven effec­ tive in preventing a recurrence ot disease, and we hope this study will prove the same thing for ocu­ lar herpes," Wilhelmus said. Each day women are beaten to death by the ir husbands or boyfriends. Just each day neighbors just like us make excuses for not getting involved. For tnfor you can help stop domestic violence, call 1 - 8 0 0 - 7 7 7 - 19 6 0 T H E R E S NO E X C U S E for Domestic Violence. I I