®lje ÿtnrtlanh (Observer O ctober OI. 2003 Page AS Wearing matching sweatshirts and armbands, Dads for Education are a visible force o f volunteers in Portland's schools to help students and schools succeed. Dads Making a Difference in Education by J aymee R. C uti T hf P ortland O bserver about their education. T hey’re volved in the education o f c h il not moms; th e y ’re dads. dren. T h e y v o lu n te e r in th e ir Portland Public Schools has A ro le tra d itio n a lly c o n ch ild ren ’s classroom s, help out adopted a national program , nected to m others. Dads volun in the lunchroom , read to stu Dads for Education, to encour teers firm ly believe that men dents, assist teachers and help age fathers and other male role must be visible and active as their kids make critical decisions m odels to becom e more in- positive male role m odels and need to take a jo in t leadership role alongside m others to edu cate their children. “This program is for fathers o f all backgrounds to get active in schools,” said Christian Miner, a spokesman for the district. The program , which started this month, is attracting prom i nent education leaders includ ing the districts com m unica tions director Lew Frederick and retired teacher Ken Berry, co ordinator o f the program. Dads are currently present in 18 schools, many in north and northeast Portland. Program lead ers hope to expand involvement to more schools in coming years. For more inform ation, call 503-916-6470. ■m m Oregon Partnershi 9 K eith F redrickson F or toe P ortland O bserver by Alliance Fights Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery can start with a simple phone call , If you or a loved one is having trouble with alcohol and drugs, call Oregon Partnership. W e’re here to help. Oregon Partnership is a non profit organization that reaches out to communities across the state with our prevention educa tion and treatment referral ser vices. We operate three telephone hotlines to assist people strug gling with all kinds o f substance abuse — alcohol, crack cocaine, m e th a m p h e t amine, coke, mari juana, inhalants, ecstasy, prescrip tion and over-the- counter drugs. Our telephone assistance is free and confidential. All you have to do is pick up the phone, talk to one o f our trained staff persons or volunteers, and you’ve taken the first step to ward recovery. Make no mistake, treatment for alcoholism and drug addic tion is not an easy journey. But treatment and recovery work. And the first step to achieve a clean-and-sober lifestyle can start with a simple phone call. I wish you could have seen - and felt - the energy on this past Labor Day when some 500 people in recovery spanned the Inter state 5 Bridge, joined hands and celebrated the freedom - and joy that comes with sobriety. It was magical. Oregon Partnership's main phone line is 1-800-923-HELP. HclpLine operates at all hours, seven days a days. It is staffed by adult volunteers trained in help ing alcoholics and addicts who want help to find help. We also welcome calls from people who have loved ones suffering from substance abuse. We also operate a Spanish HelpLine (“Linea de Ayuda”), which is answered by compas sionate, highly skilled volunteers who are bilingual and bicultural. Linea de Ayuda’s number is 1- 877-515-7848. Our YouthLine, 1-877-553- TEEN, lives up to its name. It is a peer-to-peer hotline that al lows teenage callers to talk one- to-one with other teens about substance abuse problems. Our teen volunteers are supported by adult mentors. Like the vol unteers for our other lines, these young people also undergo ex tensive, ongoing training to help them deal with all kinds o f sub gram where parents, grandpar ents and other volunteers are trained to deliver alcohol and drug prevention education in kinder garten through six-grade class rooms. Oregon Partnership also has a resource library, free and open to the public, that offers a wide range o f substance abuse infor mation, educational tools and c o m m u n ity -o rg a n iz in g re sources. Open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, the library is located at Oregon Partnership’s m ain o ffic e at 6443 S.W . Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy., Suite 200. Oregon Partnership also houses the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, a public health project based at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., that moni tors the market ing practices o f the alcohol in dustry to focus attention and ac tion on industry p ra c tic e s that jeopardize the health and safety o f our young people. Over the next year, Oregon Partnership will work in alli ance w ith The Portland O b server to help fight the epi demic o f drug and alcohol ad diction that threatens our com munities. Along with inform a tional ads, w e’ll also be pub lishing a series o f articles that deal with specific drugs such as crack and meth, as well as stories aimed at supporting and inform ing parents and other adults engaged in the struggle to make our com m unities drug- free. O ther articles will focus on young people and the struggle they face in avoiding this ter rible epidemic. W e’re here to help. Together, we can m ake so m e m a g ic happen. Make no mistake, treatment for alcoholism and drug addiction is not an easy journey. But treatment and recovery work. i stance abuse and other prob lems. Oregon Partnership also oper ates a suicide hotline - 1-800- SUICIDE. W e're the only alco hol and drug program in the United States that has passed the rigorous accreditation process involved with handling suicide calls. Earning this accreditation show s how w ell-trained and compassionate our volunteer and staff members are when it comes to helping people in crisis. Our phone hotlines comprise ju s t one o f the O regon Partnership's services. We also provide community outreach and training to help communities fight alcohol and drugs, and we have another program called the O r egon Coalition to Reduce Under age Drinking that works to ad vance public policies and laws that reduce consumption o f al Keith Fredrickson is commu cohol by youth. We also have a nications director for Oregon parents teaching prevention pro- Partnership. Portland Libraries Busiest in Nation According to a recent report issued by the Public Library As- sociation, Multnomah County Li- brary ranks No. I in annual circu- lation of books among all public libraries serving populations o f 500,000to 1 million. In 2002, residents checked out 16.1 million items—orover24books for every man, woman and child in the county. "This wonderful news confirms what we already know-that our li- brariesarewell-lovedandwell-used by people of all ages," said Interim DirectorofLibraries Ruth Metz, add- ing that over 13,000 people visit a Multnomah County library daily, Library board president and longtime library advocate Susan Hathaway-Marxer echoes the li- brary director’s enthusiasm, not- ing that the support of library users has made a critical difference. Alcohol and drug addiction is color blind... gender neutral... ...and targets all ages. But help is available. Call our free and confidential HelpLine: 800-923-HELP OREGON PARTNERSHIP Preventing Substance Abuse. Changing Lives. orpartnership. org «