Pa£eAô__________________________ ___________________ c lu ¡ J J o r t l a t x ò C O b s e r u e r
Aprii 20.2005
Long-Standing Northeast LIFE Center to Close
Support runs out for food
and clothing program
T he LIFE C enter on N ortheast
M artin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
w i 11 c lose on J une 17 after al m ost 40
years o f assisting many local resi
dents that couldn’t get assistance
elsew here.
T he sm all grass roots organiza
tion founded by the local African
A m erican com m unity has provided
em ergency access to food, cloth
ing, household items, furniture, and
appliances for indigent fam ilies and
individuals.
"T he LIFE C enter will close due
to the lack o f stable funding. This
could not happened at a w orse tim e
when we are seeing an increase in
requests for our services,” said
Leslie Garth-Clark, LIFE Centerex-
ecutive director.
In the past, the center relied on
donations from the United W ay o f
the C olum bia-W illam ette, other
c o m m u n ity
o r g a n iz a tio n s ,
churches and individuals.
Unfortunately, donations to the
LIFE C enter have been declining
for the last three years creating
budget deficits and forcing the cen
ter to reduce staff and restrict its
hours o f operation. Currently, the
center operates with an executive
directo r and several com m itted
volunteers — som e o f w hich have
volunteered for over 20 years.
M any volunteers as well as cli
ents feel their safety net will be
taken aw ay and w onder where they
will go for resources or to dedicate
their tim e in the future. It has been
through the volunteers’ efforts and
despite funding reductions that the
LIFE Center Executive Director
Leslie Garth-Clark
C enter has been able to serve 200
fam ilies a month.
The LIFE Center was unique over
the years because it had no require
m ent for clients to have a case
w orker or to be on welfare to receive
assistance. It served w orking class
people w ho lived paycheck to pay-
check. B ut recently, because o f I im-
ited resources, the center restricted
its service to only those w ho have
gone through the “system ."
W ith the cen ter’s closure, a huge
void will be created in P o rtlan d ’s
inner city for those seeking em er
gency help with basic needs.
F or three years, the cen ter has
been operating at a deficit o f $30,000
or m ore, so its board has elected to
sell the c e n te r’s building. T he pro
ceeds will go tow ards opening a
foundation to assist no n -p ro fits
w ithin the com m unity w ho provide
basic needs em ergency services. A
“L IFE C enter F und” will be estab-
photo by N icole H ooper /T he P ortland O bserver
A lack o f financial support is cited in the future closing o f the LIFE Center, a food and clothing assistance program serving local
residents on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard for nearly 40 years.
lished and m anaged by the O regon
C om m unity F oundation for this
p urpose.
T he closing o f the center was a
difficult and painful decision, but
the board believes that the estab
lishm ent o f the “L IFE C enter F und”
will prevent oth er sm all nonprofits
from closing their doors and co n
tinue L IFE C e n ter’s legacy o f as
sisting poor fam ilies for years to
com e, L ife C enter officials said.
O n S aturday, M ay 7, the L IFE
C enter B oard o f D irectors has in
vited all volunteers, past em p lo y
ees, com m unity leaders, partner
agencies and supporters to a fare
w ell celebration at the center lo-
cated at 2746 N.E. M artin L uther
K ing Jr. Blvd. from noon to 4 p.m.
K irk G reen, pianist will provide
entertainm ent with local leaders
present to ho n o r the cen ter’s past
accom plishm ents.
Senior, D isab led C on cern s
State leaders to meet with community
A sp e cia l “T o w n H all o n S e
n io r a n d D is a b le d I s s u e s ” is
sc h ed u le d fo r S atu rd ay , A pril 23,
fro m 10 a.m . to n o o n at th e
K a is e rT o w n H all B u ild in g , 3 7 0 4
N. In tersta te A ve. T h e b u ild in g is
on th e In terstate M ax lig h t rail
line, n ea r th e O v e rlo o k S tation.
T h e state is fac in g a b u d g e t
sh o rtfall o f a p p ro x im a te ly $ 6 0 0
m illio n , an d b u d g et cu ts m ay a f
fect se n io rs, th e d isa b le d , and
p resc rip tio n d ru g serv ices. T h e
T o w n H all is to h e a r c itiz en c o n
ce rn s an d p u b lic co m m en t.
A lso in c lu d ed o n th e p ro g ra m
w ill be sh o rt p re se n ta tio n s on
p resc rip tio n assista n c e an d p art-
n e rsh ip p ro g ra m s, an d on p ro
p o se d n ew p ay d a y len d in g le g is
lation.
S en . M a rg a re t C a rte r, R ep.
G a ry H a n se n a n d R ep . S te v e
M arch , all m e m b ers o f the b u d
g etin g w ritin g co m m ittee o f the
L eg islatu re , w ill p articip a te in the
m eetin g .
T h e p ro g ra m is a co o p e rativ e
e v e n t w ith th e A d v o ca cy C o a li
tio n fo r S e n io rs an d P eo p le W ith
D isa b ilities, th e O re g o n A sso c ia
tio n fo r R e tired C itiz en s, S av e
O u r S en io rs, an d U n ited S en io rs
o f O reg o n .
F or m o re in fo rm atio n , call 503-
9 8 6 -1 7 2 2 .
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Earth Day Rewards Photographer
Portland photographer Leonard Cogan beautifully captures the vibrant and diverse colors o f spring at the Japanese Garden at
Washington Park. This picture won first place in a Yahoo! Earth Day photo contest and will be showcased on Yahoo 's Earth Day
n \A/ph<zit&
c U b llC .
P H O T O B Y L E O N A R D C O G A N J
Free Estimates &
Insurance Billing
Little research has been done on
the w ay A frican A m ericans suffer
from A lzheim er’s Disease, an afflic
tion that affects the m inds o f many
aging m inorities.
T o shed som e light on the sub
ject, the A frican A m erican D em en
tia an d A g in g P ro je ct and the
Layton Aging and A lzheim er's Dis
ease C enter at O regon H ealth and
Science U niversity are presenting
g u e st le c tu re r Je n n ife r M anly,
Ph.D ., to speak on “D econstruction
o f race and education in research
on cognitive function.”
T opics to be discussed include:
the few m easures o f m ental abil ities
that have been validated for use
am ong ethnic m inorities; how eth
nic groups are m ore likely to be
m isdiagnosed as mentally impaired;
how the developm ent o f separate
n o rm s for people o f color is prob
lem atic; and an approach to gain
ing interest am ong m any cross-
<►
503-445-4702
"Always Service w ith A Smile"
A lzehim er’s
and M inorities
23S
6 4 4 4 NE M artin Luther King Blvd.
Cancer Risks Often Ignored
Study finds illness in whites, blacks
(A P) - Black w om en with a fam
ily history o f breast cancer are
m uch less likely than w hites to get
I genetic counseling, in part b e
Jennifer Manly
cultural neuro p sy ch o lo g ists that
involves various experim ents.
T he lecture will take place on
Thursday, April 21 at 3 p.m. at 8B6O
U niversity H ospital South and O r
egon H ealth and Science U niver
sity. For more inform ation, call 503-
494-3450.
cause o f the m istaken notion that
the genetic form o f the illness is a
w hite w o m an ’sd isease, research
ers say.
W hile breast can cer generally
is m ore com m on am ong w hite
w om en, som e data suggest both
races have sim ilar rates o f genetic
flaw s know n as BRCA m utations
that greatly increase the risk o f
d ev e lo p in g the d ise ase . A lso,
breast-cancer m ortality rates are
higher in black w om en.
In a s tu d y p u b lis h e d in
W e d n e s d a y ’s J o u rn a l o f th e
A m erican M edical A ssociation,
r e s e a r c h e r s q u e s tio n e d 4 0 8
w om en w ith a fam ily history o f
breast or ovarian cancer. O nly 16
o f the 71 blacks studied - about 22
percent - got genetic counseling,
com pared w ith 184 o f the 3 10 w hite
w om en, or about 60 percent.
C ounseling to evaluate risks is
generally a p rerequisite for genetic
testing.
Racial disparities are com m on
w hen it com es to preventive m ed i
cal care, but “the size o f the d iffer
ence w as really surprising,” Dr.
K atrina A rm strong, a cancer re
searcher at the U niversity o f P enn
sylvania w ho led the study.
A rm strong said the gap m ight
reflect fears o f discrim ination and a
general distrust o f the m edical es
tablishm ent, w hile others said som e
blacks m ight be reluctant to talk
about cancer.
Dr. Funm i O lopade, a U niversity
o f C hicago breast cancer researcher
w ho co-w rote an accom panying
editorial, said black w om en tend to
underestim ate their breast cancer
risk an d lack a w a re n e ss ab o u t
BRCA flaws.
íhl ^Íortíanb (©bseruer Established 1970
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