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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 1995)
Where Is The Love, Beauty And Truth one can identify the field w orker w ho took M ary’s application, but the orig inal caseworker informed Mary that her claim would be investigated and they would call her. Mary waited two more days and went into the agency again, very angry, but determined to get assistance without making a scene. As she arrived she spotted the field worker who had taken her informa tion and promised to get her food stamps started post haste. The field worker denied ever having taken the application. Mary asked to see the supervisor, but is told that she is in a staff meeting and cannot be disturbed. Angry , but keeping her temper in check, Mary demands that the appli cation given the field worker is found. The case worker looked through the field worker’s files and finds M ary’s name in the field worker’s appoint ment book but no application could be found. The case worker asked Mary to file all information again in a new application and she w ould stay E ditor's Note: This is the second part of a series on the despair, loss and loneliness on the faces of life. In part one, Mary, a widow, found herself short of money and applying for food stamps. Bs M. I saacs The field worker informed Mary that she qualified for food stamps and that the application would be placed on the computer, post haste. M ary’s stamps w ould be mailed soon, no need to contact the office again. Home Mary went, feeling much bet ter, hungry but satisfied help was on the way. A week passed and no food stamps; 11 days went by and no food stamps. Mary returned to the agency to inquire when she would receive the stamps. The original case worker had returned and informed Mary that she was not on the computer; no information or application for food stamps for Mary could be found. No St. Johns YWCA Seeks Volunteers For Homeless Families Program C ^ w n ecem in q Cora Lee Hunt A hom ecom ing for M rs. C o ra Lee H unt, 63 who died Feb. 1, 1995, was held T uesday, Feb. 7, at Bethesda C hristian C h u rch , P o rtlan d . A rran g em en ts w ere m ade by Skyline F uneral Home. In term en t followed a t Skyline M em orial G ardens. She was bom Feb. 24, 1931, in Sweethome, Miss, the only daughter and third of four siblings to the late Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lee Bernard. Upon leaving Mississippi some 24 years ago, Portland has always been her home. She loved helping others and enjoyed working as a nurses aide. Her precious gift was the love she shared with those around her. She gave a lot o f love and was loved by many. She dedicated her entire life to her 17 children, five o f whom preceded her in death, and to the very end maintained a strong faith in God. Survivors include her children Dillie Cary, Barbara Neyland, Kasia Bernard, Ernestine Stigler, Margaret Stigler, Harry Pankey Jr., Dorsey Jennings, James Pankey, Shirley Carr, Larry Pankey. Robert Pankey and Amos McLemore, all o f Portland: her uncle Hamp Love o f Mississippi; three brothers, Charles and Edward Bernard, both o f Dayton, Ohio, and Willie L. Love o f Mississippi; 40 grandchildren and 28 great grandchil dren. A N N IV E R S A R Y Apologies were offered, but Mary would have to wait two days and pick her stamps up at the agency on the 11th o f November. Mary arrives on the 11th to find the office closed, a holiday. Mary is fundless, hungry, but refuses to ask anyone for food. She finally walks from Broadway to Killingsworth to the food stamp of fice on the 14th o f November to get her food stamps that would have arrive in October. The food stamps for November were mailed again to the wrong address and would require two more days before Mary could pick them up. Mary returns home, thoroughly disgusted with the sys tem. Her food stamp application had taken from the 29th o f September through the 11th o f November be fore Mary received food stamps. Nine or 10 visits to the agency were re quired; she was confronted with lies, lack o f supervision o f workers; pro cesses requiring unnecessary use o f her funds for transportation; aggra late and get the information on the computer that night, post dating this application with the date the original application was filed By this time a full month had passed. Mary is to look forward to receiving her food stamps on the eighth o f the month in the mail. The story should have end ed at this point, but... on the eighth day, Mary ’s mailman informed her that he could not leave her food stamps, because the had the wrong address on the envelope. Mary re ceived her identification card but no food stamps. Mary thanked God for her friends, the church family and neighbors for their generous dona tions o f food and transportation, but her pride had taken a severe beating and if she were not a Christian, her anger would have exploded over ev eryone in that agency. Begging an other ride, she returned to the food stamp office and informed them o f their latest error... entering her ad dress incorrectly into the computer. The YWCA o f Portland- St. Johns C enter, located 8010 N. Charleston, is seeking qualified vol unteers to coordinate and staff a chil dren’s program for homeless fami lies attending a series o f tenant edu cation classes and participating in other YWCA programs. “We offer classes designed to provide tenant information to applicants to YWCA housing programs" explained Laurie G ardener. E m ergency S erv ices Casemanager. The classes are held weekly in the St. Johns YWCA com munity room. Classes have featured dynamic speakers from other agencies and community resource people with expertise on a particular topic area. M ultnom ah C ounty Legal Aid, Project for Community Recovery (a drug and alcohol program), the Port land Housing Center, and the OSU Extension offices, and other pro grams have provided speakers for the series Of classes. “Reliab'e child care is one ofthe most impo'.tant barriers that our cli ents face, in getting to classes, meet ings and other appointments”, Susan Regan, Emergency Service Program Director pointed out. The C h ild re n ’s Program c o o rd in a to r (a v o lu n te e r p o sitio n ) w ould be a great help in c o o rd i nating this service for hom eless fam ilies. R e sp o n sib ilitie s w ould include assistin g s ta ff in settin g up the program and d ev elo p in g a tru stw o rth y pool o f people to call on to p ro vide c h ild c a re and other activ ities. Miracles Club Wishes You A Happy New Year As We Begin Our 25th Anniversary O f Publication. (503) 735-1795 700 N. K illingsw orth, P ortland O regon 97217 M IR A C LES CLU B & XCEL (X-CONVICTS EMBRACING LIFE) Present's Black H istory M onth L ecture Series Every Sunday During Black History Month 5 :0 0 -6 :0 0 P.M. S unday, F ebruary 12th Professor McKinley Burt, Author, Historian M ah fine o f a Minot W MeceMoUeb ^Jln-M m euean <fia)oh ro Moo/¿5 , v jfn t— vJmeiican Sunday, F e b ru a ry 26th Kamau Sadiki, Engineer, Intellectual, Organizer Free Admission To A ll Lectures ^Hafitiii (2hvuifi 103 NE Morris St., Portland, OR 97212 Wcrfnc^rfaiy - • • • • • J lOO-f'.OO/tm V K a fu tK a y JO: 00 a m - 6: OOfi m Sunday School - 9:30am Sunday Morning Worship Service - 1 1:00am Sunday School Teacher’s Meeting Tues - 6:30pm Bible Study Wednesday 6:00pm Prayer Meeting Wednesday - 7:00pm Church Phone Number 287-7457 2 8 0 8 > I t M a r fin (R aKtc) rfiituy ÿfth rf. We Invite You To Come And Worship With Us. The Church Where Everybody is Somebody And Christ Is All. i i n c i ' • K at ia y fja c itic n (5 0 3 ) 2 8 8 -5 2 4 6 Dr. Joe S. Hardie, Pastor Mt Olivet Baptist Church 8501 N. Chautauqua Blvd., at Willis Blvd. ATeaching Church With A Reaching M in istry Dr. James E. M a rtin. Senior Pastor (503) 240-PRAY 4224 S.E. 62nd Avenue (between Powell & Foster) Portland, Oregon 97206 ; I SUNDAY ATTEND ONE OF THESE FREE SEMINARS Y PORTLAND V PORTLAND KJE. PORTLAND NX. Portland TUESDAY. FE B 14TH 9 0 0am -l 1:00am Ona Church, O ne Child 5806 N A b tn aA ve Tuesday. F e b 2 is t 700pm -9:00pm One Church. O ne Child 5806 N. A bm a Ave Sunday. Feb 26th 2 00pm-4 00pm Faith Tabernacle 701 5 NE 23rd Ave Tuesday Feb 28th 9 00am -11 00am A dvents! Adoption S ervces 6040 SE BelmorK St WHY SPECIAL NEEDS ADOPTION • Saves thousands in unnecessary adoption fees & legal costs ■ Can reduce time special needs children wait for families ' Protects children from the feeling of not having a family, ■ Adoption assistance (financial & medical) is usually available WHY USE ONE CHURCH. ONE CHILD OF OREGON ’ We are a recruitment program which seeks to place special needs children in a culturally appropriate homes. • We offer adoptive information and referrals. " We offer adoption orientation. • We offer these plus other service at no cost to you. Reservations required for seminars seating is limited. Call 285-7634 now to reserve your seat. February 18, 1995 The 5th annual Prayer Breakfast o f the Portland Section o f the National Council o f Negro Women will be held on Saturday, February 18, 1995 at Shenanigan's Restaurant, 4575 N. Channel Ave., Swan Island from 9:00 AM to 12:00Noon. Breakfast will be served between 9:00 and 10:30a.m. Tickets are $15.00 and may be obtained by calling 282-2789. ;|j3aul ¿fHFtissiottaqj ^Baptist 8101 N. Fiske Avenue • Portland Oregon 97203 Church Phone: 289-0147 • Study Phone: 289-1911 Sunday Service 10:45 Sunday School 9:30 Bible Study 6:00 Evening Service 7:00pm Pastor, Re. James C.E. Faulkner Lighthouse Church Of God In Christ 8138 N Hudson Portland, OR 97203 (503) 283-3558 * Church (503) 283-0169 * Home Elder Tom Moore, Pastor Sunday School 9:30 AM . Sunday Morning Worship 11 45 A M YPWW 6:30 P.M. Sunday Evening Worship 7:30 P.M Friday Worship Service 7:00 P.M. "Come Unto Me All Ye That Labor And Are Heavy Laden, And I Will Give You Rest. Take My Yoke Upon You And Learn Of Me." Matt. 11 28 29 We have a place for you. Come fellowship with us! (503) 774-5470 « * - .4 Why gamble with the assets you've worked so hard to accumulate? Attend our seminar before you proceed with an adoption to find out how to choose the right adoption agency. Your family could save precious time and thousands in needless expenses. Tuesday Prayer/Bible Band 7:30 P M PA STO RS: Bishop Robert Simpson. Jr • Dr Ida M Simpson I VÂ. FAITH TEMPLE CHURCH Sunday School 9:30am Morning Worship 10:45am Evangelistic Service 7:30pm Tuesday Pastoral Teaching 7:00pm FRIDAY Evangelistic Service 7:00pm DAILY Praver 12:00pm & 6:00pm Worship Services 8:00am & 11:00am. Church School 9:30 to 10:30am, Bible Study. Wednesdays, 10:30am & 7:00pm Radio Ministry each Sunday. 8:00am on KBMS DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT “ADOPTION" W IT H O U T SEEING US F IR S T ! Sunday, F ebruary 19th Halim Rahsaan, Youth Counselor, Community Activist ¿St. fifoen persistent as Mary; many would have given up and possibly ended up in emergency care or as a suicide statis tic. How do we, as a caring, working public, whose money supports these social agencies, make sure that peo ple in need are treated with dignity, handled efficiently and given the in terim help needed until regular assis tance begins? Talk with those in charge o f funding for these social agencies, begins? Talk with those in charge o f funding for these social agencies, discuss safeguards against misuse o f people, visit these agen cies; talk with the recipients o f food stamps, welfare, free bus transporta tion; review agencies funded by Unit ed Way and report any misuse of funds or lack o f funds for certain ethnic groups. Get involved! It’s your money! It’s your homeless! It’s your seniors! W e're in this world togeth er! w e’re in this country together! W e’re in this city together! Get in volved! ADOPTION IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO J h c ^ o r tla n b (P b sc rn c r KfaKmaK ¿ inc vation, stress, anger; loss o f pride and dignity and hunger experienced by Mary because no one really cared. Is it any wonder people steal to eat? Is it any wonder our seniors choose to isolate themselves, starve them selves and become distrustful and suspicious o f all people. We have taken away, from most o f those in need, their ability to see the love, beauty and truth in living. It makes you wonder if senior housing, health treatments, especially hospital emer gency treatments, food banks and etc. are not riddled with case studies such as this one. Errors can be cor rected. Organization can be estab lished, efficient help can be em ployed; But “caring attitudes” come from the heart and is a personal thing to be desired by all humans, especial ly those working in social, religious and health agencies. All families in need, widows and widowers in need, seniors in need, and homeless people are not as A Welcome Is Awaiting You! 4
