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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.”