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<L lie |Jo rtlan b (ßbserucr
October 22. 2003
Housing Dreams Materialize for 200 Residents
Host helps the working
class find their home
by J aymee R.
C i ii
T he P ortland O bserver
working poor or working class, few
safety nets are in place and they are
left to fend lo r them selves with
m ajor expenses such as buying a
home.
Yet ex p erts agree that hom e
ow nership is good for individuals,
good for fam ilies and overall good
for com m unities.
It seem s that housing options
are often available for the filthy rich
and dirt poor.
F o r e x a m p le , on a go rg ed b u d
g e t, p e o p le c an c h o o se b e tw e e n
h o u se s an d c o n d o s , v in ta g e and
d e c o , e a s t sid e an d w est sid e.
Host D evelopm ent identified
O n th e o th e r e x tre m e , m an y o r
g a n iz a tio n s a re d e d ic a te d to that gap o f service in 1989 and has
s e rv in g the n e e d s o f th e p o o r since broken ground on 200 hom es
an d h o m e le s s , so m e tim e s p ro in north and northeast Portland.
Host is a nonprofit organization
v id in g th em w ith fo o d , s h e lte r
an d g u id a n c e to g et th e ir liv e s making hom e ow nership affordable
to P o rtlan d ers through p artn er
b ack on tra c k .
But for those in betw een, the ships with corporations, building
Jamar Brown (far left) joins a groundbreaking ceremony in north Portland in observance o f Brown
becoming the 200" homeowner helped by Host Development, a housing program for the working
poor or working class. The ceremony included supporters Regan Leon o f US Bank, John Miller,
executive director of Host, Bob Repine, director of Oregon Housing and Community Services and
Ted Gilbert. Host chairman o f the board.
contractors and the Portland H ous
ing Center.
Host raises donations and seeks
out corporate grants to cover hous
ing closing costs. Because o f the
relationships it has built in the co m
m unity, much o f the housing sup
plies and labor costs are donated or
Open House
Sunday, November 2, 2003
l:00pm-4:00pm
De La Salle North Catholic High School
7654 North Delaware Avenue
Portland, OR 97217
(503) 285-9385
very cheap.
U nlike H abitat For H um anity, a
n o n p ro fit d o in g s im ila r w ork.
H o st's clientele qualify for m ort
gage loans and m ake m onthly p ay
m ents on their homes. Host prim a
rily serves single heads o f house
holds and people o f color, and cli-
ents qualify if they are at or below
100 percent o f the m edian fam ily
income.
"A lot o f program s exclude folks
betw een 80 and I (X) percent o f the
m edian fam ily incom e. T here are
not m any options for these people,"
said John M iller, executive director
o f Host D evelopm ent. "B ut th a t's
your average w orker and the way
the Portland housing market is, it’s
really hard for that group. W e feel
like w e’re filling a gap.”
T he h o u sin g m arket in north
a n d n o r t h e a s t P o r t la n d h a s
ch an g ed trem en d o u sly in the last
five years. M iller said. L ots that
H ost co u ld o n ce acq u ire for b e
tween SI (),(XX) and 3>2().(X X) are now
g o in g fo r b etw een $ 5 0 ,0 0 0 and
$75,(XX).
"N orth and northeast Portland
went from being not as desirable to
being very desirable," M iller said.
For this reason. Host is expand
ing services to southeast Portland,
and looking to buy property and
build hom es in the southeast Lents
n eig h b o rh o o d , w h ere p ro p erty
prices rem ain low.
The Host team plans to move the
2(X)‘h family served by theirprogram
into their new hom e by C hristm as.
T hirty-five more houses have since
begun construction.
“W e're continuing to look for
land,” said Miller. "The biggest chal
lenge is finding affordable land.”
F or m ore in fo rm a tio n , v isit
w w w .hostdevelopinent.com .
National Leader
Home Buying Fair
Reaches Out Locally Event to offer mentoring and support
c o n tin u e d
fr o m F ro n t
particularly focuses on enhancing
reading,” he said.
The campaign is in conjunction
with an Education Summ it next year
in Washington, D.C. The event will
murks 50 years since the Brown v.
B ourdof Education court case which
led to the desegregation o f schools.
The I ! rban I .eague i s a al so m em
ber o f the um brella organization
L eadership C onference o f Civil
R ights, w hich is active on legisla
tive and political fronts.
A ccording to M orial, the U r
ban League protects civil rights
forali.
“W e have to reach out for the
cause o f diversity to Hispanics, to
Asians, to Jew ish-Am ericans, to
th e
g a y /le s b ia n /b is e x u a l/
transgender community, on a broad
range o f civil rights," he said.
W ith the hom eow nership rate this effort AAAH has created the
for A frican A m ericans in Portland H om ebuyerCoaching Project which
lagging below the national aver pairs volunteer hom eowners with
age, a local volunteer group is striv hom ebuyer hopefuls to provide peer
ing to m ake this y e a r's A frican mentoring and support.
A m erican H om ebuyer Fair an even
T his y ear’s fair is scheduled for
bigger success.
Saturday, Nov. 8 from 11 a.m. to 3
Organizers with the African Ameri p.m. in the Legacy Em anuel H ospi
can Alliance for H om eow nership tal A trium , 5 0 1 N. G raham .
hope those who take the first step by
People can pre-register for the
attending the fair will continue to fair by visiting the AAAH w ebsite
make progress towards buying a at w ww .aaah.org orcal ling 503 285J’
home long after the event. To aid in 5555, extension 558.
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Sniper Suspect
Pleads Case
Before Jury
c o n tin u e d
fr o m F ro n t
F erg u so n an d te rro rism su sp e c t Z a c a ria s
M oussaoui, w ho decided to go it alone in court.
K evorkian is in prison, Bundy w as executed in
1989, Ferguson is in prison for killing six people
on aco m m u ter train, and M oussaoui is aw aiting
trial on charges tying him to the Sept 11.attacks.
W earing a suit and tie. M uham m ad delivered
his ow n opening statem ent M onday, telling tfie
ju ry in ram bling fashion that he is being perse
cuted by people w ho do not know the truth
about the sniper shootings.
“T h ere’s three truths: The truth, the w hole
truth and nothing but the truth. I alw ays thought
there w as ju st one truth," he said. "Jesus said,
'Y e shall know the truth.” ’
W ith M uham m ad acting his ow n law yer, the
trial will probably becom e an unruly affair in
I've never seen
anything short o f a
disaster with someone
representing themselves.
The prosecution doesn't
like it, because they
don't want to be viewed
as beating up on a
novice.
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- Paul Marcus, a law professor at the
College of William & Mary
which the orderly,judicial courtroom atm osphere
is interrupted by aw kw ard m otions or speeches
from an untrained defendant, said Paul M arcus,
a law professor at the C ollege o f W illiam &
Mary.
“ I'v e never seen anything short o f a disaster
w ith so m e o n e re p re s e n tin g th e m s e lv e s ,”
M arcus said. "T he prosecution d o e sn 't like it,
because they d o n 't w ant to be view ed as beat
ing up on a novice. It's also a very serious
problem with the judge, should he actively
intervene if the person begins using this as a
kind o f soapbox."
M arcus said M uham m ad will probably be
able to continue defending him self, with his
law yers on standby, as long as the judge c o n
siders him m entally com petent.
" It's a very low standard, m eaning that you
understand the proceedings against you, and
that you are savvy enough to co o p erate,”
M arcus said.
r