H iv January 17, 2 0 0 7 Page A3 lattò ©bsertwr TAKE YOUR SMALL BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL! A Cherrell Edwards o f Portland appears on MTV for the network's ‘Think HIV' campaign. Activist Addresses Health con tin u ed fro m F ront ages 25 to 34. “I'm a consum er, and I haven't found a place that delivers cultur- ally-specific services," Edw ards said. C o llectiv e C are S ervices helps w om en by referring them to health agen cies, ed ucation and training w orkshops, ch ild care, jo b skills b uilding and food resources. She draw s on personal experi­ ence to help women build their self­ esteem and understand the nature o f their risks. “So m any tim es w om en d o n 't think th e y ’re at risk because they are in a m onogam ous re la tio n ­ sh ip ," she said. O ften w e leave the resp o n sib ility up to o u r p a rt­ ners to p rotect us, and I think it's im portant for w om en to realize som etim es we have to teach our m en. W e say 'H e ’ll pro v id e the c o n d o m ,' but w ho teach es him how to use it, check the e x p ira ­ tion date and w hen to get an o th er one?” C ollective Care is dedicated to black women, but as Edw ards has spent time in the com m unity, espe­ cially w hile filming a docum entary over the summ er, she has redevel­ oped the organization to include families. " I ’ve seen e q u a l n eed s for wom en, men and youth," she said. For her, educating the black com ­ m unity hinges on a cultural appli­ cation, and she believes the ap ­ proach should be rooted in social and spiritual support. “ It starts with the church, a place o f refuge," she said. "That is the foundation o f the fam ily.” Beyond social help. Edwards provides mental support to indi- viduals with HIV. “ W hen a person becomes HIV positive it's easy for them to lose hope,” she said. "M en tally they suffer before they even have physical symptoms. D epression sets in ...th e y d o n 't think they can lead a norm al life, and they can. O ur goal is to help them becom e self-sufficient w ith­ out being dependent on the sys­ tem." E d w ard s is cu rren tly o p e ra t­ ing C o llec tiv e C are S erv ices out o f her hom e, but she is looking for an o ffic e and v o lu n teers to help w ith recru itm en t, ch ild ca re , lit­ eracy sk ills b u ild in g , public rela­ tions and m ark etin g and a d m in is­ trativ e w ork. Y o u ca n fin d m o re a b o u t h er p ro g ra m , and c o n ta c t in fo rm atio n , at w w w .co llectiv e c a re se rv ic e s.o rg . TRI-MET Investing tu Purtlantf. f uture PI)( PORTLAND DEVELOPMENT CO M M ISSION y X Portland < 0 / Com m unity - College Event: Doing Business with Local Public Agencies Where: PCC Central Campus, 1626 SE Water Ave, Portland When: Tuesday, January 23, 2007, 8:30 a.m. to 1 30 p.m. Who should attend: Minority, Women & Emerging Small Business Owners Information: Greg Wolley, 503.823.6860, gwolley@ci.portland.or.us To register: Gale Hussey, 503.823.5057, ghussey@ci.portland.or.us HIV Awareness Weekend at PCC Eshe means life, and a celebra­ tion prom oting health in the black com m unity takes place Saturday, Jan. 20 from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 21 at Portland Com m unity College Cascade C am ­ pus. The event location has moved from the C enter for S elf E nhance­ ment to the PCC Student Services building. Participants can engage in a se­ ries o f free workshops for HIV aware­ ness and prevention and attend health screenings and a teen sum ­ mit. A com plim entary soul food luncheon will be served, with enter­ tainm ent from the SEI Drum Line. Ages 13 and up are welcome, and an arts and crafts room will be available for small children. Eshe W eekend sponsors include B rothcrto Brother, African A m eri­ can AIDS A w areness Action A lli­ ance (A 6), M ultnom ah C ounty Health Department, Portland C hap­ ter o f the Links, and SEI am ong many others. For more information contact M. Y vonne Wi 11 jams at 5( 13-284-9485. Anti-Affirmative Action Group con tin u ed fro m Front not affect their services. “We set up our program to buffer against this sort o f thing." W olley said. "W e d o n 't have hard numerical ta rg e t g o a ls , b u t w e h a v e aspirational goals and com panies arc not penalized if they d o n 't reach certain goals.” David Fidanque is executive d i­ rector o f the A merican Civil Liber­ ties Union o f Oregon. Fidanque said that because it is so easy to get initiatives on our state ballots, the ACLU has had extensive experi­ ence in fighting the interests o f w ealthy, out o f state individuals, including a key player in the Am eri­ can Civil Rights Coalition chair­ man. Ward Connerly o f Sacramento. “The caution I'd give to Mr. Connerly is to think twice about com ing to O regon." Fidanque said. “Folks who put up big money for initiatives in this past cycle did n 't do well, and I'm confident there'd The caution I'd give to Mr. Connerly is to think twice about coming to Oregon. — m p rira n Civil ihprtipc - David David Fidannup Fidanque, A American Civil I Liberties Union of Oregon executive director be a strong and broad coalition to oppose the type o f initiative he has proposed elsew here." Fidanque is referring to recently defeated ballot measures that would impose term limits on state legisla­ tures. limit state spending and re­ quire parental notification for teen­ age abortions. “ W e haven’t won them all,” Fidanque said. "But on this issue w e'd look to the business com m unity to step up, and I think they would because they understand im portance o f having a well-educated and diverse workforce." W hen asked about M ichigan ballot measure. Fidanque said his ACLU counterparts in that state have not had as much experience fighting out o f state initiatives. T here’s no question | our experi­ ence! puts us in a much stronger position to fend o ff this kind o f attack o f policy," he said. “T he clear result o f m easures in other states has been to increase discrim ination against those who are most vulnerable in our society. I think the m ajority o f O regonians understand when you attack one group, you attack the fabric o f this state." Do you drive, ride, walk or bike across theǧ5 Bridge? d e c id e y o u r fU tU l^ S Talk with us at an Open House It is decision time. We re looking for your input on proposed bridge, transit and highway improvements for 1-5. Wednesday, January 17 5:30 - 7:30 pm Thursday, January 25 4:30 - 7:30 pm Battle Ground Police Department 507 SW 1st Street Battle Ground, WA C-TRAN Bus #173 Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs (OAME) 4134 N Vancouver Avenue Portland, OR TriMet Bus #40 or #6 Saturday, January 20 9:30 am - 1:00 pm Tuesday, January 30 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Lincoln Elementary School 4200 NW Daniels Street Vancouver, WA C-TRAN Bus #2 Lincoln Former Hayden Island Yacht Club 12050 N. Jantzen Drive Portland, OR TriMet Bus #6 o Firefighters Strong Arm Heckler Man forced to ground, kicked another firelighter kicked him three to ld T h e O re g o n ia n . “ O u r times. firefighters felt threatened." D ei ieorge said he w as angry D eG eorge said lie suffered a swollen wrist, a bruised forearm because he was aw akened by a ( A P ) — F irefighters forced a 48- and abrasions on his face. "It was com motion in the lobby of the apart­ year-old Portland man totheground a n im a lis tic b e h a v io r ." sa id ment that is home to roughly 80 and kicked him during a downtown D eG eorge, whose apartm ent m an­ low -incom e residents. confrontation captured on surveil­ ager provided him with a copy of “ I spoke loudly," Dei ieorge said. lance tapes. the video. "I was in a negative stale. My vibes The tapes, recorded from cam ­ T he video does not include were not g