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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 1998)
>A <¿.* .¿ « „**** , C ommitted to cultural diversity, http://www.portlandobserver.net Volume X X V II. Number 69 o mm u n í tu a l e n à a r April 29. I99S Volunteers of America Fácil ity Helps People In Recovery PCC Job Fair The PCC C ascade Cam pus is having a jo b fair w hich prom ises to have 100 em ployers in industries ranging from the food and beverage to construction and health careers. “ Be prepared and dress for success,” said Ed Joseph o f the PCC C ascade Cam pus Skills Center. “ Be ready to talk to em p lo y ers.” The event is set for W ednesday, M ay 6 from 11 AM to 6 PM on 705 N. K illingsw orth. Bowling For Rhinos H elp save the A frican black rhino, Javan rhino and Sum atran rhino. Bowl w ith the keepers from M etro W ashing ton Park Z oo at B runsw ick Sunset Lanes in B eaverton - tw o sessions, 12-3 PM or 3-6 PM. All profits from the nationw ide event go to the Lew a W ildlife C onser vancy in K enya, U jong Lulon Preserve in Indonesia and Bukit Barisan Selatan N ational Park in Sumatra. Call 226-1561, ext. 255 for pledge sheets. Learn CPR Red C ross w ill offer C om m unity CPR at A m erican Red C ross, O regon Trail C hapter, 3131 N. V ancouver, Portland. T he class will be held on Saturday, April 25th, from 8:30 AM to 4 PM. C om m u nity CPR, a 7.5 hour course , teaches how to care for an adult, child, or infant who stops breathing or is choking, give CPR, recognize a h ean attack, etc. Course fees m ay vary. Call 280-1440. Free Acupuncture T h e O re g o n C o lle g e o fO rie n ta l M edi cine C linic is a n o n-profit, educational organization p eriodically o ffering free clinics. On Saturday, M ay 9th, treat m ents are offered for those suffering from stress, insom nia, headaches, and neck and shoulder tension. All clinics are w alk-in clinics, open from 9 - 10:30 AM. No appointm ents are necessary. The new fam ily clinic is located at 10541 SE. C herry Blossom D rive (Just east o f Mall 205). Alberta Street Fair T h e first A lb e rta S tre e t fa ir is ta k ing p la c e S a tu rd a y , M ay 2. O rg a n iz e rs w an t to e n c o u ra g e th e rest o f P o rtlan d to com e h av e fun and c e le b ra te the c h a n g e s ta k in g p la c e on NE A lb erta S tre e t. T h e o rg a n iz e rs are c u rre n tly se e k in g all ty p e s o f e n te rta in e rs in c lu d in g m u sic ia n s, d a n c e rs, ju g g le rs , etc. w ho w ant to p erfo rm at th e ev en t. C all 2 8 7 -3 4 9 6 . Mothers and Daughters \l Forthan (standing near doorway) leads a group o f men during a session at the Men's Residential Center, an alcohol and 1rug recovery program operated by Volunteers o f America. Photo by Neil Heilpern B y N eil H eilpern drug charges, he found himselfstanding before a judge who asked “What can we do to help I Forthan walked into the room and greeted two dozen men you?” “I was startled, but it made me take a look at .whose pasts included drugabuse, violence and crime. Within minutes what they I wanted ...out o f the system...out o f the were praising each other for cooperative lifestyle,” Forthan told The Portland Observer. Forthan became a VOA client. Like many o f efforts in their community o f recovery. these men, he had gone through an earlier drug This was Volunteers o f America’s alco treatment program “just to keep out of prison, hol and drug program, for many a final opportunity to turn their lives around rather but not really interested in change.” than spend a major portion o f their lives in Three months into the program he started jail. losing his cravings whileembracing the 12 step program and turning his powerlessnessoverto Forthan understood only too well what these men were going through. Six years a Higher Power. ago, after jumping bail on probation and “We use a holistic, balanced, very struc A State Emergency Board Approves $3.5 Million “ M o th ers and T h e ir D a u g h te rs” is the to p ic o f a free c o m m u n ity h ealth f o r u m p r e s e n t e d b y D r. N a n c y S alisb u ry , a g y n eco lo g ist at Providence M ilw au k ie H o sp ital. T he ev en t is at 7 PM on W e d n e sd a y , M ay 13 at P ro v i d e n c e M ilw a u k ie H o s p ita l in th e M o th er G am elin C o n fe re n c e R oom . G et help o p e n in g th e lin e s o f co m m u n ic a tio n at th is forum for m o th e rs and th e ir d a u g h te rs 11 y e a rs and o ld er. T h e re w ill also be an o v e rv ie w o f fe m ale a d o le sc e n t h ealth c a re issu es. For PSU Urban Center Project, Construction To Start This Summer Jazz In The Vineyards T here w ill be an o utdoor Jazz concert at the W illam ette V alley V ineyards on M ay 3, from 3 - 5 PM. The Andrei K itaev Trio w ill be playing. G eneral adm ission is $8, $5.50 for students and seniors. T here will also be refreshm ents and w ine tasting, w ineglass and T -shirt sales prior to event and during interm ission. Call 399-5184. Images Of China T h e In te rsta te F ire h o u se C u ltu ra l C e n te r w ill be sh o w in g a tra d itio n a l sty le rod p u p p e try , in fu sed w ith c la s sical C h in e se o p e ra te c h n iq u e s, p e r fo rm ed by Y u q in W ang. An e n c h a n tin g p ro g ram o f sto rie s draw n from C h in e se m yth th a t d e p ic t both tra d itio n a l and m o d e rn -d a y life in C h in a. T he p u p p e ts are e x q u isite ly g a rb e d in c o lo rfu l, a u th e n tic C h in ese co stu m es. R eco m m en d ed for ag es 5 and up. C all 8 2 3 -2 0 7 1 . tured and intensive treatment program here,” program directorGreg Stone told The Portland Observer. “At first there is a lot o f denial and anger towards the system, because the clients have usually been in and out o f trouble their whole lives.” The program includes six months residen tial treatment and six months outpatient status. The first 17 weeks are the roughest and most intensive, when clients dive into the 45-50 hours o f structured treatment that includes education raps, process groups where they talk about feelings and family-of-origin issues, work on literacy and GED achievements, commu nity services, living skills and other topics. “We give them the basic tools o f recov ery,” said Stone, including getting past de nial, prevention planning, understanding criminal thinking and positive, cognitive restructuring to prevent relapses. At some point, the clients begin to realize they had adopted a I i testy le that was destruc tive and they pick up VOA’s tools for recov ery. “ I’ve been here four months, after being on drugs and alcohol for 15 o f my 32 years,” said Ernie Ollison. “This is the longest I’ve been clean and sober in my life.” He smiled and proclaimed, “The thing that works most is the support you have from the group.” David Davis, who is “33, going on 90,” said he is now at the stage where he joins in VOA’s community volunteer work, having recently showed visitors around at the newly opened McCoy apartments a few blocks north on Martin Luther King Blvd. “I’ve taken so much away from the com munity and now 1 want to give back, so I volunteer as much as 1 can,” he said. VOA clients volunteer for 50 different programs, ranging from chores for the US Forest Service to speaking about their life stories to impressionable middle school stu dents. T he program has helped R obert Donaldson Jr. realize he had “uni imited pos- sibilities” to replace the pot, pills and mesca line that he started taking at age 14 and the heroin and cocaine which followed soon afterwards. “I didn’t think ofm yselfasan addict,” he said, noting his 3.4 grade average in high school. The program has grabbed his inter est in life and revitalized it. Donaldson is planning to join his sons in a real estate business. "My head is clearing up and I know there is a better way.” O ne o f the surest signs o f success can be seen when they have refocused away from their personal plight to stand and cheer for a visitor who introduced him self as a per son who was clean and sober for 10 years. They were celebrating another person’s success, agood indication they were really “getting it.” What they get, in part, is the message on Forthan’s wall: “How I think affects how I feel. How I feel affects how I behave. Worry is a lack o f faith.” (For more information on VOA’s M en’s Residential Center W omen’s Residential Center call 235-8655.) College o f Urban & Public Affairs, Portland State University. Portland State U niversity will begin con struction o f its $33.3 m illion U rban C enter project this sum m er, thanks to the State E m er gency B oard’s decision Friday, A pril 10 to approve the university’s request for $3.5 m il lion in state m onies. The Em ergency B o ard ’s action solidifies the last portion o f state funding tow ard the project, which will include a new building for the PSU C ollege o f Urban & Public A ffairs, a distance-learning center, transit center, public plaza and retail space. T he U rban C enter b e gins construction in June on the block bounded by SW M arket and M ontgom ery streets, and SW Fifth and Sixth A venues, at the south end o f dow ntow n Portland. It is scheduled to open in late 1999. U nder the agreem ent reached with the Em er gency Board, PSU will receive $2.35 m illion in general fund monies. T he rem aining $1.15 m illion com es in the form o f interest earnings in the state tre a su ry ’s higher education account. “ W e’re extrem ely pleased the state L egisla ture has shown its strong support for this project, which will benefit not only the dow ntow n Port land and university com m unities, but also resi dents throughout O regon,” said PSU President Dan B ernstine. “The realization o f the U rban C enter project show how public-private p artnerships can w ork.”
