May 17, 2000
Page A5
(Tip? ^ìortlanò ©bseruer
Family Living
1
■ H M N H m M M M M M M M
Foster homes one solution for teen violence
C O M R IB L IE U M Q IO
tO R T lIE
P o RILAMDO bs EKX ER
Terri Barnett, A ssociate D irector at
The Boys & Girls Aid Society o f
Oregon, announced an im m ediate
need for more short-term foster homes
in the Portland m etropolitan area to
address issues causing teen violence.
“ R ecen t d isc u ssio n in th e U.S.
C ongress and a survey done by the
A ttorney G eneral throughout the
U nited States, cite the follow ing
c a u se s as c o n trib u tin g to te en
violence: a lack o f nurturing at home,
shortage o f adults to confide in, lack
o f early intervention, and torm enting
by peers,” Barnette stated.
The Boys & G irls Aid Society o f
O regon is a leader, o f O regon in
addressing these root causes o f teen
violence in its short-term foster care
program . The Society is receiving
co n siste n tly m ore requests from
O regon counties and the state for
short-term foster care, especially for
teens aged 10 to 17, and for teen
mothers.
Teens fostered through the agency
may be experiencing a family crisis,
having difficulty in school, dealing
w ith an u n p la n n e d p re g n a n c y ,
beginning to run aw ay or get into
trouble.
The goal for m ost teens is to be able
to return hom e safely or to m ove to a
longer teen placem ent.
Foster parents can help to m ake a
positive change in the life o f a teen in
o fth eir com m unity, whether they are
single or m arried ow n their hom e or
rent an apartm ent. Foster hom es are
certified by the agency, receive 24-
h o u r s u p p o r t, tr a in in g a n d
reim bursem ent for care.
Founded in 1885, The Boys & G irls
Aid Society o f O regon is one o f the
largest and oldest private, non-profit
a g e n c ie s d e d ic a te d to h e lp in g
O r e g o n ’s c h ild r e n an d y o u th .
A gency services include adoption,
fo s te r c a re , c o u n s e lin g , fam ily
m e d ia tio n
and
p reg n an cy
prevention.
Barnett urges adults interested in
finding our m ore about becom ing
foster parents with The Boys & G irls
Aid Society tocontact 503.222.9662,
extension 137.
Family Briefs
One Million donated grocery bags and
one million pounds of food in one day
C O M R IB l TEDSfORV
f ob T he
P o r i i.A SD O bserver
Oregon was recently rated worst in
the nation for the prevalence o f
hunger. V ancouver carriers, food
banks an d sta te re sid e n ts did
something about it on May 13*.
With the help o f one m illion plastic
bags printed by retailer Grocery
Outlet, O regon Food Bank and
N ational A sso ciatio n o f L etter
C arriers are asked residents to
donate one m illion pounds o f food
in a state-w ide effort the day before
M other’s Day.
“ If each household donates at least
one can o f food, we can collect
enough for 750,000 m eals,” says
O re g o n F o o d B a n k ’s E v e n t
Coordinator Dwight Adkins. "Almost
halfofthosem ealsw illgotochildren.”
V ancouver Letter C arriers will also
participate in the nationw ide drive,
with bags donated by Parr Lumber.
All food will stay in the com m unities
w here it is collected.
Last year, residents o f Portland and
surroundings areas donated 500,000
pounds o f food for the one-day drive.
YWCA purchase shelterfor homeless families
The YW CA o f G reater Portland announced that it has
purchased the former Blessed Sacram ent Convent and
Rectory from the Roman Catholic A rchdiocese o f
with the YW CA since 1987, announced that the shelter
could not remain in the Pioneer Methodist Church bui lding
as space was needed for other programs. The YW CA spent
months searching for another bui lding, located the Blessed
Sacrament Convent, and began leasing the facility from the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese.
Portland to give its shelter for hom eless families a
permanent home.
The facility is located in the4600 block ofN orth Maryland
Street in Portland. Had the A rchdiocese not made it
possible for the YW CA to purchase the facility, this
resource for homeless families in Portland may have
been lost.
In July 1999, the A rchdiocese o f Portland notified the
YWCA that it needed to sell the Convent that the YW C A
had been using as a shelter for hom eless families since
October 1998. O nce again, this YW CA shelter for
homeless families faced hom elessness. In the spring o f
1998, the Pioneer United M ethodist Church that had
housed and sponsored the Hom eless Family Shelter
W hen the A rchdiocese decided that it needed to sell the
Convent as part o f the sale o f a number o f church properties,
the A rchdiocese also m ade it possible for the YW CA to
purchase the facility rather than have this resource be lost.
The YW C A joined with the Housing D evelopm ent Center
o f Portland to raise the funds necessary to purchase the
property and give the shelter a perm anent home. The
A rchdiocese agreed to sell the property to the YW CA at
a price that was affordable and in A ugust 1999, the YW CA
began the process o f raising the necessary funds.
W ith the purchase o f the Blessed Sacram ent Convent and
Rectory, the Y W C A is very hopeful that the SafeHaven
Shelter for Homeless Families will never face homelessness
again.
.
tOMRlBl I1PSIORX
Washington Park
Shuttle reopens May
27th
Tri-M et takes you to all the park’s
features for one low price
T h e p o p u la r W a sh in g to n P ark
S huttle will begin running again
M em orial Day weekend, offering
rid e rs a c ro ss to all th e p a r k ’s
attractions. The shuttle tallied more
than 11,000 rides a month during its
first sum m er last year. Because o f
this success, service will be extended
until the end o f September.
B e g in n in g M ay 27 th ro u g h
Septem ber 30, the shuttle will run
every 15 minutes, every day, between
10 AM and 7 PM. It’s sim ple to ride.
Just show the driver your Tri-M et
bus transfer or validated MAX tickets
from that day and ride without any
extra charge. W ithout it, ju st pay
regular adult fare o f $ 1.15 per person
(85 cents if under 18).
See popular attractions
Ride the shuttle to get to these popular
spots:
O regon Zoo
International Rose Test Garden
Japanese G arden
Hoyt A rboretum
H ikingtrails
W orld Forestry Center
Vietnam Veterans Living Memorial
Rose G arden C hildren’s Play Park
“Tri-M et m akes it easy to get around
the W ashington Park attractions and
av o id th e traffic h eadaches and
parking hassles,” said Fred Hansen,
T ri-M et G eneral Manager.
282-7973.
Veterans get much
needed attention
N/NE Portland Trail
Blazers Community
Fair
Portland, Ore. - Six major state, federal
and public services will pool efforts
to help veterans at an outreach May
20 at the O regon Convention Center.
The event, which will offer veterans
the chance to increase their benefits,
enroll for VA health care and file for
disability or survivor’s benefits, will
be from 10a.m .to3p.m .in roomsA107
to A 109.
T hecenter is located at 777 NE Martin
L uther King Jr. Boulevard. The
O regon D epartm ent o f V eterans
Affairs, the Portland VA Medical
C e n te r, V et C e n te rs , V e te ra n s
S e r v ic e s O rg a n iz a tio n s , th e
W illam ette N ational Cemetery, and
the Veterans Benefits Administration
will have sta ff on site to help veterans
and survivors file and process claims.
The Portland V A M edical Center will
o ffer free ch o lestero l and blood
p ressu re sc re en in g s to veterans.
V eterans will get a chance to file for
education benefits, get help with
housing, and get counsel ing for post-
traum atic stress disorder and other
veterans’ issues. V eterans who ca n ’t
attend the event, but w ho w ish to
enroll for VA healthcare, can call the
en ro llm en t h o tlin e at 273-5289.
O utside the Portland M etro area, cal I
the toll-free hotline at 1 -800-949-1004.
“ A Day at the Fair”
Saturday, June 3 ,2 0 0 0
10 am - 2pm
M att Dishman Com m unity Center
(77 NE Knott, Portland, Oregon))
Sponsored by: A lbina M inisterial
A lliance, Black United
F u n d o f O re g o n , C e n te r fo r
C om m unity M ental Health,
M orrison C enter, and the U rban
League.
Entertainm ent, Refreshm ents and
Face Painting
Participating C om m unity Benefit
A g e n c ie s ; A lb in a M in is te ria l
A llian ce, B lack U nited Fund o f
O regon, CC M H , M orrison Center,
U rban L eague, H ispanic A ccess
C enter, A frican A m erican Health
C oalition, Portland House o f Umoja,
Pregnancy Resource Center, Albina
H eadstart, T L C -T N T , C hess For
Success, M ESA , Portland Home
Garden Project, Habitat For Humanity
Y o u th E m p lo y m e n t I n s titu te ,
Institute o f N onprofit M anagement
O M S I, P o rtland T aiko, Portland
Com m unity Reinvestment Initiatives
For m ore inform ation or interested in
volunteering please call A drienne at
e p b T he
C O N IR IB IT E D S IO R X
P ok i l v > p O bser ' er
In April, O regon's unem ploym ent
rate follow ed the national trend,
declining to 4.6 percent. This was
O r e g o n ’s
lo w e s t s e a s o n a lly
adjustm ent unem ploym ent rate since
April 1995.
In
M a rc h
1995
O r e g o n ’s
u n em p lo y m e n t rate reach ed 4.4
p erc en t. O th er that one m onth.
O regon's jobless rate has no, been
low er since 1969. Sim ilarly, the U.S.
w age and salary jo b s have grow n by
23,000, good for a grow th rate o f 1.5
percent. This grow th rate is about the
sam e as the 1.2- percent grow th rate
between 1998 and 1999, and below
unem ploym ent rate dropped from 4.1
percent in M arch to 3.9 percent in
A pril, m arking the nation’s lowest
rate since January 1970.
B a s e d on r e c e n t in fo rm a tio n ,
the rapid growth rates o f 1995,1996,
and
1997, w hen
O r e g o n ’s
e m p lo y m e n t w a s g ro w in g by
approxim ately four percent per year.
In April, three m ajor industry sectors
posted higher em ploym ent counts
than expected for the tim e o f year,
w hile all other sectors perform ed
close to their normal seasonal trend.
O r e g o n ’s e c o n o m y can b e
characterized as stable, with low
unem ploym ent rates coupled with
slow em ploym ent growth. In April,
total nonfarm payroll em ployment
grew by 8,500jobs, w hich was 3,200
jobs more than would have been
p r e d ic te d b y n o rm a l se a s o n a l
m ovem ents. Since April 1999, these
P o r ii a m >O bserm r
Advertise your business in
(£l{c |J n rtla n b (Ì)bscrucr
call us today at 288-0033
With
Protection Plan,
you get . .
the riant loan,
a
Hours 9-5:30 Monday-Friday 10-5:30 Saturday
t
1
fair price
&
A insworth D rug
Hatch Family Pharmacy - Ainsworth, Inc.
Ainsworth Drug Pavstation
800 Reconex
ATT Cable
ATT Long Distance
NW Natural
Pacific Power
Portland Water
Oregonian
Western Union
Traveler's Express Money Orders
United Parcel Service
US Post Office
HUD's FHA
Homebuyer
Unemployment rate ticks down to near-record low
K M l ' ii t
tripling the previous y ear’s totals.
This year, com m unities around the
state will receive donated bags to
help boost their collections.
Residents are asked to fill the bags
with donations o f canned and boxed
foods. Most w anted foods include
c a n n e d m eats and m eals like
chicken, tuna, soups, stews and
chili; boxed rice and pasta meals;
c a n n ed fru its and v e g e ta b le s;
peanut butter, pasta, rice and beans
o f all kinds. The food bank cannot
accept glass jars or hom e processed
foods.
a thorough
appraisal.
K n o w w h a t y o u 'r e g e ttin g in to
When you buy a home with a loan from HUD's FHA, you get a lot more than a
good rate. You get HUD's FHA Homebuyer Protection Plan. Every FHA home loan
requires a detailed appraisal by an FHA-approved appraiser. If any problems
are found, you'll know about them before you close. HUD and
FHA have helped over 30 million Americans build their dreams.
We can help you, too.
A
â
8 .0 0 H U D S
FH A
w w w h u d
gov
I