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I he P ortland O bservi r • F ebruary 26, 1997
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Program to help family caregivers
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La Quon Lawrence Damond Collins
Male; Feb. 14, 1997
71bs 6 oz, 20 inches
M other: Katachia Thomas
F ather: Lawrence D. Collins.
Are you caring for a relative or
friend? Come and share the gracious
gift o f gentle touch. Join Legacy
p a sto ra l C are s ta ff E velyn M.
Gerardo, L.M.T., and Fr. Nicholas
M. Christiana, H H P ., as they share
a hands-on approach to health and
wellness using gentle touch and sit­
Female; Feb. 15, 1997
6ibs 15 oz., 20 inches
M other: Carolyn A Almgren
F ather: Leonard E. Hill
Dakota Nisei Daniel
Male; February 06, 1997
61bs 8 oz., 19.5 inches
Mother: Rhondalyn Jeweline Daniel
Jailin Jamere Gage
M arian W right E deiai w
Male; February 12, 1997
71bs 14 oz., 20 1/2 inches
Mother: Deborah L. Riley
Father: Johnnie W. Gage
Laurence Esme Rasaphangthong
In a city w here not much is w ork­
ing for children, the City Lights
School in W ashington, D C .. is a
beacon o f hope and an example that
local initiatives do work to give chil­
dren with troubled pasts a better
chance for a brighter future.
The school, founded in 1982 by
the C hildren’s Defense Fund, was
established to educate and treat
youths who have emotional and be­
havioral disabilities. The young
people who attend City Lights have
journeyed through foster homes, the
public school system, the courts, and
a m ultitude o f juvenile facilities,
and are con sid ered “ h ig h -risk ,”
“emotionally disturbed,” and “de­
linquent” They are the ones every­
body else gave up on, and, for the
most o f the. City Lights is their last
chance.
“City Lights is an oasis,,” says
Ron Pettiway, who has been the
school’s executive director for the
past two years. “This is where they
stop to prepare for their next step. If
many o f these youths didn't stop
here to prepare, they would be either
incarcerated or dead, these are the
children who are trying every day to
resolve difficult issues and conflicts
in their lives. Most o f them come
from broken homes and are eco­
nomically disadvantaged ”
City Lights is now an indepen­
dent, nonprofit school with four
major components: Education, psy­
chological counseling, substance
abuse prevention and treatment, and
job training and skills development.
Each student has his or her own
“team,” with a social worker who
designs an Individual treatment plan,
a teacher, assistant teacher, and a
fo ster g ra n d p a re n t. T he social
worker works with the student’s fam­
ily and community-based organiza­
tions to mobi I ize whatever resources
he or she needs. In addition to class­
rooms, City Lights has a resource
room for students with academic
problem s, an independent living
center with kitchen and laundry fa­
cilities, and a library.
Over the past 15 years, the school
has served about 2,000 students, most
o f whom are Black. Students attend
the school for an average o f two
years, having been referred by courts
or the public school system. More
than three-quarters o f the students
have histories o f delinquent behav­
ior, more than half have already
spent time in a juvenile facility, and
a third have been patients in a psy­
chiatric hospital. One in six have
children o f their own.
But the good thing about City
Lights is that, through persistence
and a lot o f love from an extraordi­
narily caring staff, it enables these
young people to move on to produc­
tive lives, despite their rocky back­
grounds A recent survey found that
nearly half o f the students who had
attended City Lights were continu­
ing their education, working, or par­
ticipating in vocational training one
year after leaving. And although 82
percent o f the students had been
arrested before enrolling, only 20
percent were incarcerated one year
after leaving. Attendance is 75 per­
cent
I c a n t explain the joy I get when
I bump into my former studen^bit a
supermarket or on the street and
they say Hey Mr Pettiway, I’m
working now,' or ‘I’m married,' or
‘I’m not doing drugs or selling dope
anymore.” Ron says proudly.
I understand Ron’s excitement.
A year ago. I had the pleasure of
handing an Outstanding Recogni­
tion Award to Gwen, a student who
only two years earlier had entered
City Lights as a drug user who was
constantly in trouble with the law,
and Jayree, a Nigerian immigrant.
To: 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 3 3 To A dvertise For Diversity
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■
who fled a bloody war in his country
and became a ward o f the District of
Columbia. Through the efforts of
city Lights, and their own self-deter­
mination, Gwen and Jayree were
able to put their difficulties behind
them. Gwen earned her GED and
landed a job as a receptionist at the
school.
“The reason we have success sto­
ries life these is that we never give up
on anybody,” says Ron. When a
student doesn’t show up at school,
w e’II go to his or her home to find
out why. If a student has specific
needs, we try to find out what those
needs are. We want them to succeed,
and we expect them to succeed.”
Ron says that young people are
more violent and more disturbed
today than they were 10 years ago.
Drugs, guns, joblessness and even
more broken homes, make the chal­
lenges he faces more difficult than
ever, he says, “when we first started,
may of the kids who came to us
might have beetwfrom broken homes,
but their grandparents were a strong
part o f their extended families,” Ron
says. “ T hose g ia n d p a re n ts had
worked all their lives, bought homes,
and were successfully retired. Nowa­
days, many o f the grandparents are
in their 40s, the parents in their late
20s, and the children 14 or 15. Par­
ents are more likely to lack impor­
tant parenting skills, because there
hasn’t been the necessary model­
ing.”
But with schools like City Lights
and role models like Ron Pettiway
and his staff, more of the young
people who need guidance will get
it. Just imagine how many o f our
children would be rescued if there
were more people and more schools
that refused to give up
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With The
charge to attend the program, pre­
registration is required.
Please contact Legacy Referral
Service at (503) 335-3500 for more
information or to register. This pro­
gram is sponsored by Legacy Com ­
munity Health Education & Support
Services.
Childwatch: the secret is never giving up
Cassaundra Elvse Hill
Male; February 12, 1997
Mother: May Saetern
Father: Bounmy Rasaphangthong
you and the person from whom you
provide care
Learn about resources to help you
relax and renew.
"Touching the Healer Within”
will be held on Thursday, March 13,
6:30 - 8:30 p.m., at Legacy Meridian
Park Hospital, although there is no
ting massage techniques.
“Touching The Healer Within,”
is an education designed for family
caregivers and will provide you with
an opportunity to: Affirm the healer
that you are.
Explore simple movements that
will provide relief and support for
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Clark Wahkiakum Cowlitz, Clark, Skamania and Klickitat counties
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N obody does it B etter “ for L ess .
I
The rain, wind and cold weather
associated with Oregon winters can
be burdensome for everyone, but the
also may be life threatening. An
estimated 130,0000regonians could
be living in homes without heat this
winter. To help. Portland General
Electric (PGE) has teamed up with
Oregon HEAT, an independent, non­
profit organization that raises funds
to pay for people’s energy hills.
This is the fifth year that PGE and
Oregon HEAT have worked together
to meet the needs o f fam i lies in crisis
due to unemployment, accidents,
sickness and other unforeseen cir­
cumstances.
“ Most Oregon HEAT beneficia­
ries are single-parent households
with children under the age o f five or
senior citizens on fixed incomes,”
said PGE’sCustomer Resources Rep­
resentative Lynda Tatum. "Since no
one should have to choose between
heating and eating, Oregon HEAT
steps in and helps pay overdue util­
ity bills and makes sure that these
families have heat throughout the
w inter ” PGE also offers home
weatherization assistance and edu­
cation on how to reduce energy con­
sumption. For more information orto
make a donation, please call Oregon
HEAT at 503-612-3790
Mark
Washington
Jr.
Love Mom
& Dad