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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 1995)
M arch P age z \4 Homelessness: The State Of Portland’s Very Poor Speakers: Gretchen Kafoury. Portland City Commissioner; Jean DeMaster, Director. Multnomah County Adult Home Care \\ here w ere y ou during those frozen m id-February ev en in g s? Were you at home, watching the snow pile steadily on the front lawn from behind a foggy livingroom w indow? Y ou're one o f the lucky ones. For many o f us, on our daily stroll through the streets o f Port land's downtown, it’s become too easy to ignore the uncomfortable sight o f the people we pass - people with out front lawns, without livingroom windows, without homes... W ithout hope. This week, Jean DeMaster and Gretchen Kafoury. two o f Portland's leading advocates for the homeless, and two designers o f I9 9 4 ’s Shelter Reconfiguration Plan, will address the ongoing plight o f the homeless in Portland, and will "chart a new course for the next phase o f work.' Benson Hotel, May fair Room. Program 12:15-1 15 pm Luncheon reservations and cancellations, call 222-2582 by 2 pm Thursday. March 16; S il members, $15 non-mem bers Coffee tickets available at the door, limited free seating in back. Hopson: Portland’s Prince Of Hope Continued from front ▲ giate and employment opportunities for high school students, serving about 80 students. Following a successful second summer camp, which catered to mid dle school students, a new program through Portland public schools was created to provide academic moni toring and in-school instruction for the camp students. SEI launched into the Columbia Villa Youth Projectin 1086. extend ing their services to about 300 stu dents. These sessions were the basis for S E l’s a t-risk p ro g ra m s. It launched its current year-round pre vention programs in 1088, serving co-ed students at Ockley Green, Tub man. and Whitaker middle schools and Jefferson High School. In 1080, the agency began its elementary school program s at B oise-Elliot. Humboldt, and Woodlawn Schools "Everything has continued to grow We serve about 700 kids a year," Hopson said, wryly, as if im plying they could do better. The service SEI provides are free. And over the years SEI has garnered many awards. The organization was named one o f President George B ush's " 1 hou- sand Points o f Light" for outstanding community service in 1090. It re ceived the "Oregon Award for Pub lic Service" and has been named one o f the top 20 community -based pro grams in the country by the national office o f Drug Control and Policy . •The agency also won an aw ard from Bishop A.L. Hardy Academy o f Theology. In spite o f these glorious recog nitions, Hopson said his joy does not lie in the numbers o f aw ards, but in the number o f kids w hose lives have been changed for better. “ I'm ex c ite d b e c a u se w e 'v e been able to c re a te opportunity and o p tio n s for the less p riv i le g e d ," he said Hopson said he's trying to keep it simple and run it with high degree o f integrity'. "W e want to be extremely pro fessional while still maintaining our cultural identity," he enthused. SE I's success story, according to Hopson, is a combined effort. "This is not about Tony Hopson, our success is due to a lot o f people, many o f which have gone.’’ He was referring to past leaders Ray Leary, Joy Leary , Antoinette Edwards, Phil Hopson and Zack Harris. But he stressed that the efforts o f SETs cur rent leadership o f Marshall Haskins, Ricki Allen, Brenda Polk, Steve Adams, Les Harrison and Richard Fortson will keep SEI rolling. FREEBIES Public Relations Is Key To Business Success The Public Relations Society of America offers the following advice to com panies looking for a PR rep resentative or firm. • Consider your PR as an invest ment rather than an expense. • Find a PR firm that represents com panies sim ilar in size to your own, and ask for the firm ’s experi ence in dealing w ith your field or commercial area. For more advice on public rela tions, write to PRSA at 33 Irving Place. Dept. NU, New York, NY 10003-2376. (News USA) T he P or h and O bse rver 15, 1995 PACC And-HFEN Join Forces For Regional Health Care PACC Health Plans ( PACC) and the Health Future Enterprises N et work, Inc. (HFEN) announced today that the two organizations have signed a letter o f intent to form a joint ven ture company to create a community - based, integrated health care deliv ery system throughout Oregon and parts o f W ashington H FEN ’s part nership base includes hospitals and physician groups in 16 Oregon com munities. PACC is a regional man aged health care organization with more than 105,000 members in O re gon and Washington. "Our primary goals is to build a unique, locally-based health care delivery system which serves the health care needs o f its members and improves the health o f the communi ties in which we live and work," said John Meenaghan, H FEN 's president “We have conducted an extensive review looking for the right partner, and PACC’s vision for how to make this delivery system come alive far exceeded its competitors." Martin Preizler, PACC’s presi dent and CEO, said the plan is for the two organizations to complete a de finitive agreement and business plan for the new joint company by April 15. "W'e believe this is a tremendous opportunity to create a new way of delivering and financing health care. We want to bring the physicians, the hospitals, and insurers, and commu nities together as partners," Preizler said. "Health care decisions need to be made at the local level, and we intend to create a company which is customer focused and quality driv en.” The letter of intent outlines a pro posal to create a company dedicated to improving health care access and de livery throughout Oregon. Thejoint company will be equal ly owned by PACC and the HFEN providers. A board o f directors will be formed with equal representation from PACC, the hospital partners, and the physician partners. Manage ment for the new joint company will be determined during the business planning. “ PACC will provide strong ad ministrative, marketing, and finan cial services, as well as strategic plan ning and state-of-the-art information and reporting systems, to the new venture in order to allow the physi cians and hospital staffs to dedicate as much time as possible to doing what they do best -- work with pa tients," Preizler stated. “ We envision creating one o f very few truly integrated delivery systems dedicated to better serving the health care needs o f our commu nities," Meenaghan added. "This is not merely a contractual agreement; it is a true partnership which brings together the key facets o f an integrat ed health care system." Discount Bus Pass Program Signs Of Success A newly launched program de signed to persuade more Portland State University students, faculty and staff to take mass transit is showing early signs o f success. PSU’s Transportation and Park ing Services Office Sold about 2,500 discounted monthly bus passes to PSU students and employees from late December through January 20. That far exceeds the first-month sales goal of 1,500 bus passes, said Sandy Arnold, manager o f the Transporta tion and parking office. “W e’ve definitely seen chang es in people’s driving habits. W e’ve seen a number o f people canceling their parking permits,” said Arnold, who added that February bus pass sales have remained strong since they went on sale Jan. 20. The all-zone monthly bus pass es sell for $21.50, half the normal price. During the first month o f sales, 2,240 PSU students. 151 staff mem bers and 134 faculty members bought the discounted tickets. Another 50 or so people bought senior-age (hon ored citizen), youth, or other passes. “ As people continue to find out about this program by word-of-mouth and other means, we really anticipate sales increases,” Arnold said. “Once the program is in full swing, we antic ipate selling 4,500 to 5,000 o f the discounted passes a month." Since December, Arnold said, about 40 staff and faculty members had canceled their monthly parking permits, replacing them with newly purchased discounted bus passes. “And that’s just the start.” she added. The experimental discount bus pass program will extend through Mar. 3 1 ,1996, although it will be re evaluated sometime this summer and again this fall. While the number o f discount .pass buyers has been encouraging, a significant number likely are per sons who norm ally w ould buy monthly Tri-Met passes at regular prices. “ W e’re looking topickup 1,200 new riders over the course o f this program. It’s hard to tell w hat’s happening so far," said Jon Weaver, Tri-Met marketing representative. “ But PSU is the largest destination per capita downtown. From a re gional standpoint, it makes sense for us to merge w ith PSU on this ty pe of a program. - ... . _ ■ presenting The Second Annual Hiss Black Oregon LISA Banque! Please Call: Sam Dean At 287-9249 For Reservations Sponsored By Doris Cafe & Lounge At 3 52 NE Russell APR Special Rate Good Through 12/31/95 10.79’ Non-Promotional Rate Home Equity Rates TooGoodToPassUp. So come into your nearest West One branch today and apply, or call us at 1-800-578-7778 to apply for a home equity line of credit over the phone. Once you apply, you’ll get an answer quickly. Other terms and rates are available. J fE S T Q N E BANK April 1st 7:00 p.m. Primary Sponsor: Seating Is Limited, Tickets Are $10.00 Fortiani» (íDbserücr O ffe r e x p ire . 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