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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2006)
January 11,2006 M a r tin L u t h e r K in g J r .“««1 R o s a P a r k s Page B7 2 0 0 6 s p e c i a l e a i1 1 o n ____ Making Strides for Housing Equity she said, “The kids who passed d ru g s?’ W ell, check your a s through there, I see now as sumptions. D oyou assume he’s eco n o m ic pro sp erity w ere adults at the cafe. It reinforces an addict because he’s dishev made in the past, 1 i ke duri ng the w hat I’ve alw ays said: If we eled? H om eless people often Great Depression of the 1930s don’tcherishourchildren, ifwe are. If h e ’s obviously strung w hen the W PA “put people to d o n 't intervene at an early age, out, consider if you had a rela work in jobs they could do. I ’ m we reap the w hirlw ind later." tive w ho was an addict, how sure the president had people A nother sore spot concerns w ould you want him to be around him who reminded him street panhandling. treated? Y ou wouldn’tgive him that this is a national problem "O ur results show that a very m oney, but you could be com and w e’re all in this together. That attitude is missing today.” Instead, as the H urricane K atrinadisastershow ed, there was indiscrim inate use o f re sources to help people. “W here was the strategic planning?” N elson asked. In the last year. N elson — Sisters of the Road Café Director Genny Nelson worked on an ongoing project, a survey o f 600 hom eless and formerly homeless people. The small percentage o f hom eless passionate. It’snot fair to have results, she said, are “disheart people panhandle, and that one response for the pri vi leged, ening, to say the least. It’s star what they mostly use the money another for hom eless people.” tling to hear how many people for is food, cigarettes and hy At Sisters o f the Road, lunch have been hom eless since their giene item s. N ow , do som e can be bought for $2.50 and early youth.” people panhandle for drug people can volunteer to earn a N elson once served as di m oney? Absolutely. I’m asked lunch ticket, a system that rector o f the W est fam ily shel by business people, ‘W hat if I N elson says was initiated by ter in northw est Portland and see som eone panhandling for those receiving help. continued from H4 Human beings inherently want to maintain their dignity. Legal Help at the Jail House Rosa Parks was booked at the Montgomery. Ala. police station in 1955 and was bailed out of the city jail by friend E.D. Nixon (left) and a white attorney and supporter. Clifford Durr. Parks ’ arrest was used as the basis of a challenge to bus segregation laws, spurring a 281-day bus boycott. Her case resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that segregated bus service was unconstitutional. TriMet Adjusts for MLK Holiday Service to match expected ridership demand f “T h e y ’resa y in g , ‘H old me accountable,” ’she said. The idea that people are en titled to be taken care o f “ is a mind set created by institution alizing hom elessness. W hen ever 1 see people com e from the place o f “I’m o w e d ,’ it m akes m e sad. It’s not the people I blam e, it’s the system that puts people in that posi tion.” Nelson said, “hum an beings i nherently want to maintai n their dignity.” She adm its that at tim es she has gotten discouraged. “ I’ve alw ays believed that hom elessness w as solvable,” she said. “ I’ ve been working at this for 33 years and it’s only gotten w orse.” The good part, she said, is that there has been politicization am ong the homeless. “I've seen people move from a place o f sham e to a m ore political place.” she said. "They understand how the system works.” T riM et will operate on a m odified Saturday schedule to m atch the ex pected dem and on the M artin Luther K ingJr. holiday, M onday, Jan. 16. B ecause the public tra n sit system carries m ore riders on the M LK holiday than any oth er holiday, the ag ency has d ecided to provide m ore service than a typical holiday/Sunday schedule. Based most bus lines will run on S at urday sc h ed u le s w ith extra service for m orning and a fter noon com m utes; 34 o f the most heavily traveled bus lines will run on w eekday schedules and all w eekday express lines will be canceled, including the five lines se rv in g M arq u am H ill. O th e r c a n ce led lines are: 41- T a c o m a , 8 I-K a n e R o ad / on last y e a r's figures, M o n d ay ’s rider- 2 5 7 th A ve and 8 4 -K e lso /B o rin g . ship is anticip ated to be 75 percent o f a For specific inform ation on routes and norm al w eekday. schedules visit trimet.org or call 503-238- T o ad ju st for the influx, M A X and RIDE. W ELLS FARGO The Next Stage* Wells Fargo honors for enabling us all to imagine the great possibilities in our future. e J00# Weill F Afijo Sink, N A AN light» teiei vert Member FIX.
