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December I9. 2007
Rockwood Site to Serve Growing Population
With social-service providers, housing
BY R aymond R endleman
Human Solutions Executive Director Jean DeMaster overlooks a
proposed building site in Rockwood for a center that would
provide services for a growing low-income population in east
Multnomah County. Kiele Fletcher, 5, who attends Davis Elemen
tary School, was among the group touring the site.
T he P ortland O bserver
T he first urban-renew al district
in east M ultnom ah C ounty has
transformed much o f the area’s land
scape since its creation in 2003, but
even more dream s wait to be ful
filled for a grow ing population that
needs social services and afford
able housing.
Human Solutions, one o f the
area's largest com m unity-develop
m ent organizations, envisions a
Rockw ood International Building
at Northeast 181 st and C ouch that
w ould provide the group and at
least six other social services agen
cies with needed space.
The five-story project aim s to
provide fam ilies w ith a clinic, bill
paying assistance, jo b training and
em ergency m eals all in one site,
including 90 low -incom e ap art
m ents in the upper floors.
M ost o f G re sh a m 's poverty-
stricken households, nearly 58 per
cent, consist o f fam ilies, and more
than 38 percent o f G resham ’s ch il
dren live in poverty, according to
2(XX) census statistics.
Poverty has continued to in
crease in the area as indicated by
the exponential ju m p in the num ber
o f East County children qualifying
for free or reduced-cost lunches
between 2001 -02 and 2005-06.
Jean D eM aster, executive direc
tor o f H uman Solutions, do esn ’t
mince words in identifying the trend
as a civil-rights issue.
“ It is unjust for families to be
hom eless, doubled up with other
fam ilies or living in other danger
ous situations,” says D eM aster.
photos by R aymond
R endleman /T he P ortland O bserver
A Multi-Service Center in what would be called the Rockwood International Building is planned for
this site on Northeast 181st and Couch, providing space for a half dozen social-service agencies
and 90 units o f low-income housing.
“The challenge is that the num ber
o f fam ilies in desperate circum
sta n c e s h as g o n e u p , b u t the
am ount o f dollars avai lable to serve
them has stayed the sam e.”
D eM aster has advocated for the
H um an Solutions structure to be
part o f a “three-pronged approach"
to n ew d e v e lo p m e n ts in th e
Rockw ood Tow n C enter area. One
o f the first o f those developm ents
will be the construction next year o f
a $ 14.3 m illion M ultnom ah County
Justice C enter with four new court
room s, offices, holding cells and
processing space.
A s crim in al-ju stice d ev e lo p
m ents are on the fast track in East
County, Gresham Police C hief Carla
P ilu so jo in ed in callin g fo rah o listic
approach to preventing crim e and
increasing the quality o f life for
everyone.
Piluso told the Portland Observer
in O ctober that " it’s a challenge for
all those pieces to the puzzle” when
so c ial-se rv ice bu d g ets stag n ate
am id a quickly expanding popula
tion.
D eM aster dream s o f a self-sus
taining com m unity that prom otes
a llia n c e s am o n g im p o v e rish ed
peoples.
“T h is co m m u n ity b rin g s to
gether a num ber o f diverse tradi
tions,” she says. “W e think diver
sity is a real strength that we want
to promote with a m ulti-service cen
ter.”
O v e r th e p a s t fiv e y e a rs ,
D eM aster has turned H uman S olu
tions from a sm all rental-assistance
MMMMRHMMi
NMMMNMMM
agency into one o f East C o u n ty ’s
largest charities, serving more than
6,(XX) households a year. She has
m ore than 35 years o f experience in
advocating for services and hous
ing for low incom e people.
D eM aster warns that the effects
of im poverishm ent could spiral out
o f control through future genera
tions if social-service organizations
fail to work closely together in pro
viding com prehensive assistance.
By creating acentralized and con
venient hub for access to a multitude
of services, she hopes to more effi
ciently stabi I i ze I i ves and he 1 p people
become self-sufficient. “W hat w e’ re
trying to do is break through that
cycle o f poverty and homelessness
in the East County and Rockwood
area," says DeMaster.
BMMNHMI
Paramedic Charged with Sex Abuse
A M R a f te r sh e
passed out at her
hom e on Dec. 8 and
her children called
911.
A Portland param edic
In her lawsuit,
accused o f sexually abus
Herring claim s that
ing a local African-Ameri
H aszard to u ch ed
can w om an during an am
h e r p u b ic a re a
b u la n c e tr a n s p o r t to
while she was semi
Legacy Em anuel H ospi
conscious. She al
tal is facing a lawsuit and
leges battery and
tw o counts o f first degree
Lannie Haszard
negligent retention
sexual assault.
and supervision by
Lannie L. Haszard, 61,
was fired Dec. 17 as an A merican AM R with dam ages to be deter
M edical Response param edic after m ined at trial.
T he police investigation began
Portland Police arrested him for the
when N ortheast Precinct officers
Dec. 8 assault.
T he victim. R oyshekka Herring, were called to m eet the H erring at
filed a lawsuit Thursday against the hospital. She provided inform a
th e a m b u la n c e c o m p a n y and tion leading officers to believe that
H aszard, claim ing she was groped she had been sexually assaulted by
w hile she was being transported to Haszard.
Police say he adm itted touching
the hospital.
H errin g w as tra n sp o rte d by H erring inappropriately and wrote
Patient files
lawsuit
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each o f the Seven Principles o f
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U nder the auspice o f T he Center
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U niversity, Senator Avel G ordly,
Reverend Dr. W.G. Hardy Jr., and
Dr. Dalton M iller-Jones share their
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photos from a recent trip to G hana.
The w orks will be on view in the
Gallery from 11 a.m .to6p.m ., Tues
day - Friday, and from 11 a.m. to 4
p.m. Saturday and Sunday, through
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F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n , v isit
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© ttdhmly
an apology after an interview with
detectives.
T h e note said: "I am very sorry
I did th is to y o u ___P lease accep t
my d ee p est ap o lo g ies fo r m y a c
tio n s d u rin g o u r c o n ta c t
I w ill
attem p t to seek som e help so I do
n ot e v e r do an y th in g like this
ag a in ,” acco rd in g to co u rt d o c u
m en ts.
A n o th er w om an had rep o rted
a sim ila r in cid en t w ith the sam e
p aram ed ic in A pril, but the p olice
in q u iry w as su sp en d ed afte r a
m onth. P ro secu to rs w ill be lo o k
ing at that co m p lain t again. P o
lice d etectiv es are cu rren tly se ek
ing in fo rm atio n on o th e r w om en
w ho m ay have been v ictim s d u r
ing em erg en cy m edical care from
H aszard.
A n y o n e w ith in fo rm atio n is
a sk e d to ca ll D e te c tiv e T o d d
Prosser at 503-823-9320 or D etec
tive V incentC ui at 503-823-0466.
Mayor’s Award
Edna R ob
e rtso n w as
re c e n tly
honored by
M ayor Tom
Potter with a
S p irit
of
Edna Robertson
P o rtla n d
award. H er nam e was m isspelled
in a headline and photo caption
about her many contributions to
the com m unity in last w eek 's is
sue. We regret the error.