Committed to Cultural Diversity
M etro
Î,îl 'P o rtlan d ffibseruer
I
www.portlandobserver.com
Championship Fight
Rumored for Portland
Boxing match would he
biggest in three years
See page B6
October 12. 2005
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SECTION
B
o m m u n ity
C a l e n d a r Youth League Brings Positive Interaction
Free CPR Training
T he Interstate Firehouse Cultural
C enter in north Portland is able to
offer free training and certifica­
tion in CPR to 15 area residents.
N ic G ra n u m , a v o lu n te e r
f ir e f ig h te r a n d e x c e p tio n a l
teacher, will lead the class with
equipm ent donated by the P ort­
land Fire Bureau. Call 503-823-
4322 to register o r send an em ail
to office@ ifcc-arts.org.
Women in Community
Service Seek Mentors
V o lu n te er m en to rs are being
sought by W om en in C om m u­
nity Service to w ork with incar­
cerated w om en at the C offee
Creek Correctional Facility. M en­
tors provide support and encour­
agem ent for w om en transitioning
from prison back into the com m u­
nity. V olunteers must be fem ales,
age 24 and up. T raining will be
provided. For m ore inform ation,
call 503-570-6614.
Preemie Reunion
Providence St. V incent H ospital
will celebrate the lives o f its tin i­
est patients, w ith the prem ature
babies and their parents as guests
o f honor, on Sunday, Oct. 16 from
1 to 5 p .m .a tth e medical center on
9205 S. W. Barnes Rd. in the East
Pavi lion Lobby. T he event offers
face painting, a ring toss, a bean
bag toss and fishing.
Homeownership Fair
T he A frican A m erican A lliance
for H om eow nership w ill hold its
6,h annual H om e Buying F air on
Saturday, Oct. 22 from 10 a.m. to
2:30 p.m. at E m anuel H ospital
Atrium on 5 0 1 N. Gresham St. The
fair is free and open to the public.
For m ore inform ation, call 971-
506-8565.
Police serve as
coaches, mentors
by E rika -L eigh G oodwin
F or the P ortland O bserver
Local youth and law enforcem ent profes­
sionals are building positive relationships
through football and the Police A ctivities
League.
PA L is a recreational, athletic and ed u ca­
tional program designed to encourage and
develop good citizenship, im proving the
quality o f life in the Portland m etropolitan
area.
PA L com m unity liaison D am on M iller, a
local A frican A m erican resident, under­
stands that police do not alw ays have the
com m unity on their side.
“T he police get a bad rap so we get a bad
rap som etim es,” M iller said. “W e ju st want
to educate people that th a t’s not w hat w e ’re
about; w e’re trying to facilitate positive
activities for the kids.”
M iller said it w ould not be possible w ith­
out the police involvem ent. T here are 50-60
officers w ho volunteer as coaches with PAL.
The organization also has program s to as­
sist young people w ith reading, math co m ­
puters. T he program requires students co m ­
plete hom ew ork assignm ents and seek tu­
toring assistance if necessary.
PA L is hom e to approxim ately 800 youth
football players from the Portland, G resham
and T routdale area. T he league is m ade up o f
22 squads for youth aged nine through 14
and has been around in one form or another
for m ore than 40 years, according to Miller.
“W e originally got the league from the
Portland Parks and Recreation, they w ere
unable to sustain the program ," M iller said.
“PA L took it on; the city issued perm its,
schools donated fields and PA L hired and
trained referees.”
M iller has been w orking for the league
since 1999, but first encountered PAL as a
young participant.
photo by E rika -L eigh G oodwin /T he P ortland O bserver
A Police Activities League football contest between the Tech Warriors and Cleveland Warriors takes place at Roosevelt High
School in north Portland.
“I was actually involved with the program
w hen I was a kid and out o f high school I
started w orking w ith a PA L program called
the National Youth Sports Program ,” said
M iller. “T hat su m m ertim e jo b turned into a
full tim e jo b and that was five years ago— it’s
really cool and I work w ith some gcxxJ people.”
P A L ’s program boasts one o f the low est
participation fees for activities for local youth
and is a non-profit public benefit corpora­
tion. C om m unity involvem ent, volunteer
efforts and fundraising m ake it all possible.
T he success is obvious by the atten­
d an ce d u rin g P A L ’s S atu rd ay football
gam es.
“W e u sually have ab o u t 4 0 0 people
throughout a Saturday com e to check the
kids out,” said Miller.
T h e le a g u e ’s c o a c h e s p u t in h o u rs o f
v o lu n te e r tim e ea ch w eek. T h ey are city
w o rk e rs, p asto rs, sc h o o l d istric t co a ch e s
an d o th e r m em b ers o f the co m m u n ity w ho
ta k e tim e to te ac h the fu n d a m e n ta ls o f
fo o tb all as w ell as the im p o rta n c e o f b e­
ing p ro d u c tiv e m em b ers o f th e ir co m m u ­
n ity .
“ N ot o n ly are they co a c h in g , but they
are fu n d ra isin g ; from b o rro w in g e q u ip ­
m ent an d g iv in g sc h o la rsh ip s out o f th e ir
ow n p o ck e ts - i t ’s a g re a t g ro u p th a t I
h a v e ,” M iller said.
D esp ite all o f the o rg a n iz a tio n e ffo rts.
th e re rem a in s a g reat need fo r m ore v o lu n ­
te e r co a ch e s.
Field time is donated by Reynolds Middle
Schrx)! and Jefferson, Franklin, Roosevelt,
C leveland, M arshall and M adison H igh
Schools.
V o lu n te e rs fo r P A L ’s u n d e rsiz e d
cheerleading program are also needed.
While there are four young ladies whose
interest was on the field, there are several girls
who want to keep things going on the side­
lines. There are currently 25 cheerleaders in­
volved this season which means that out o f 22
teams, only two have a cheer squad.
Anyone interested in coaching or volunteer
efforts should contact Miller at 503-823-5785.
NAACP Meeting
Families
Picket
Human
Services
T he O ctober general m eeting o f
the N A A C P will be held at Terrell
Hall on the PCC Cascade C am pus
at 705 N. K illingsw orth Ave. on
S aturday, O ct. 29 from 10 a.m . to
noon. For m ore inform ation, call
503-288-3710 or send an em ai 1 to
naacpl 120@ aol.com.
Boxes for Babies
T he Parcel Place, located on Fre­
m ont and 15th Streets, is collect­
ing diapers and other baby sup­
plies for the victim s o f H urricane
K atrina. T he supplies will be
shipped to the Bethany W orld
P rayer C enter in Baton Rouge,
w hich is housing approxim ately
650 hurricane victim s. For more
inform ation.call 503-282-3172.
A group o f local parents charge the
Oregon Department o f Human
Services with unfair treatment of
African Americans in child placement,
foster parenting and background
checks. The picketers alleging
cultural incompetence, racism and
discrimination are outside the DHS
offices on North Vancouver Avenue.
DHS officials told the Portland
Observer they had no specifics to
respond to the charges, but that they
are taken seriously.
Swimming Lessons
Portland Parks and Recreation
will offer sw im m ing lessons year
round at theC olum bia, D ishm an,
M LC , Mt. Scott and Southw est
C om m unity C enter pools. R egis­
tration is now open and lessons
are available for sw im m ers o f all
skill levels from ages 6 m onths to
adults in group, sem i private and
private settings. For rates and
information, call 503-823-5130.
Sewing for YWCA
Y W C A ’s W om en O ffenders R e­
habilitation, T raining and H elp
P rogram is accepting donations
o f fabric and sew ing m achines in
good w orking condition for the
C lark C ounty J a il’s w ork center.
T he inm ates are learning sew ing
skills by m aking nightgow ns and
donating them to the w om en and
g irls liv in g in the Y W C A ’s
SafeC hoice D om estic V iolence
S h e lte r . D o n a tio n s c a n be
dropped o ff at the Y W CA C lark
C o u n ty on 3609 M ain St. in
Vancouver. For more information,
call 360-906-9153.
y e a rs*
•^co m m u n ity service
photo by
M ark W ashington /
T he P ortland O bserver
Wellness Village
Offers Free Care
T he IO"1 A nnual W ellness V illage will
take place Saturday, Oct. 15, from 9 a.m. to
4 p.m ., at T he Blazers Boys & G irls C lub,
5250 N.E. M artin L uther King Jr. BI vd.
M ore than 40 health screeners and ex ­
hibitors will provide services to the co m ­
m unity, free o f charge.
Services and activities will include: an
African drum m ing perf orm ance by C hatta
A d d y ; c o o k in g d e m o n s tra tio n s an d
tastings; m assage therapy; fire safety
train in g by P ortland F ire & R escu e;
c h ild ren 's activities; flu shots; dental,
vision, hearing, and diabetes screenings;
and much more.
Since 1996, the A A H C has celebrated
A frican A m erican W ellness W eek by
hosting W ellness V illage in O ctober.
W ellness V illage is a fam ily event that
brings together health care organizations,
exhibitors, and com m unity m em bers for a
day o f free health services, dem onstra­
tions, inform ation sharing, and fun.
Racial Health Disparities Addressed
tively we work with com m unities to reduce
and elim inate health disparities between non­
m inority and m inority popula­
tions experiencing dispropor­
tionate burdens o f disease, dis­
In an effort to reduce racial
ability.
and prem ature death."
health disparities, health care pro­
“A
frican
A m ericans die at
fessionals and com m unity m em ­
higher
rates
than w hite
bers will com e together at the 10lh
Americans
front
13 o f the
A nnual
A fr ic a n
A m e ric a n
15
leading
cau
se s o f
W ellness V illage for a health con­
d
e
a
th
,"
sa
id
C
o r lis s
ference on Friday, O ct. 14 from 11
M
c
K
e
e
v
e
r,
A
fric
an
a.m. to 5 p.m. at the dow ntow n
Dr. Brian Gibbs
A
m
erican
Health
C
oali­
Portland E m bassy Suites Hotel.
tion president and ch ief executive
Dr. Brian G ibbs, director o f the Program to
officer.
“T here is a strong need for
Elim inate H ealth D isparities in the Division
dialogue
betw een African A m ericans
o f Public H ealth Practice at the Harvard
and
health
care providers on issues
School o f Public H ealth, will deliverthe key­
related to o u r co m m u n ity ’s health.”
note address.
In 2001, the rate o f death from d ia­
Racial health disparities continue to be a
betes w as 218 percent higher am ong
m ajor concern for health professionals and
blacks than am ong w hites, and the rate of
the public health com m unity. The federal
C enters for Disease Control and Prevention’s heart disease w as 31 percent higher for A f­
O ffice o f M inority H ealth has stated that,
rican A m ericans than for w hite Am ericans.
“T he future health o f the nation will be
In 2(X)2, black men died from HI V at a rate
determ ined to a large extent by how effec-
m ore than seven tim es higher than white
Public health expert
to share insights
B
men, and the rate for African American women
was more than 13 tim es higher than the rate
for w hite w om en. In O regon in 2001, African
A m ericans died from stroke a, an 88 percent
higher rate than w hites.
“The tragedy is that m any o f the deaths
that contribute to racial health disparities are
The tragedy is that
many o f the deaths that
contribute to racial
health disparities are
preventable.
- Corliss McKeever, African American
Health Coalition president and CEO
preventable," said M cK eever. “T h at’s w hy
the dialogue created by the health co n fe r­
ence is so im portant."
continued
on page B5