f |J o rt lattò ©bseruer December 3, 2008 Page A3 Finding Help During Hard Times continued from Front the federal poverty level. In add itio n to the sta te -sp o n ­ sored serv ices, there are a n u m ­ ber o f private n o n -p ro fit o rg a ­ n iz atio n s av a ila b le to help. If you are ab o u t to ab o u t to have y o u r en erg y cu t off, bring in y o u r utility bill w ith a “ final n o tic e ” w arning to H um an S o ­ lu tions and they sh o u ld be able to help keep th e lig h ts on in y o ur hom e, according to L auren R im estad, d ire c to r o f d e v e lo p ­ m ent fo r the n o n -p ro fit, w ho d e sc rib e s the p ro g ra m as “ a q u ic k shot in the a rm .” F am ilies in ex trem ely d ire s tra ig h ts and are at risk o f h o m elessn ess can turn to sh e l­ ters run by H um an S olutions. T h e o rg an iz atio n also o p era tes a free clo th in g sto re and o ffe rs training in M icrosoft W ord p ro ­ gram s. R im estad adds that her o rg a ­ n iz atio n , like m any, is feeling the eco n o m ic cru n ch and m any o f th e ir p ro g ram s are on a first- co m e, firs b se rv e basis. , O regon D epartm ent o f H u ­ m an S e rv ic e s s p o k e s p e r s o n L auri S tew art ex p lain s th at the rub w ith som e g o v ern m e n t p ro ­ gram s is that you have to be “ v irtu ally d e stitu te ” to receiv e them. For instance, the federal T em ­ porary Assistance to Needy Fam i­ lies program is only eligible for people who have almost no money com ing in, and can only get $528 a m onth for a family o f three. Participants are also expected to participate in jo b training. S tew art said that som e p ro ­ gram s are intend ed for a very specific d em o g rap h ic facin g a p rec ise issue. F o r in stan ce, the O reg o n H ealth plan o nly c o v ­ ers se n io rs o v e r 65, the d is ­ a b le d , p re g n a n t, o r c h ild re n u n d er 18. O ffic ia ls say the n u m b er o f people seeking T em p o rary A s­ sistan ce is up abo u t 16 p ercent from last O ctober, m aking for an increase o f 2 ,900 m ore O regon fam ilies. T he nu m b er o f h o u se­ holds rec eiv in g food stam p s is up by ab o u t 13 percen t, help in g an additional 29,000 fam ilies. H ow ever, S tew art stresses that peo p le a re n ’t tak in g aw ay from other m ore needy individu­ als by e n ro llin g in th ese se r­ vices. She ex p lain ed that ev e ry ­ one p ays into th ese pro g ram s w ith their tax dollars, and people should think o f them as in su r­ ance pro g ram s if they fall on hard tim es. Holiday Assistance Numbers Africa House - 5 0 3 - 8 0 2 - 0 0 8 2 ; ask for S alo m e Human Solutions, Inc. -- 5 0 3 - 5 4 8 - 0 2 0 0 Allen Temple Emergency Aid Center - 5 0 3 - 2 8 4 - 1 0 1 0 Insights Teen Parent Program, Inc. - 5 0 3 - 2 3 9 - 6 9 9 6 Asian Family Center - 5 0 3 - 2 3 5 - 9 3 9 6 Neighborhood House - 5 0 3 - 2 4 6 - 1 6 6 3 Cascade AIDS Project-Housing Project - 5 0 3 - 2 2 3 - 5 9 0 7 Northeast Emergency Food Program - 5 0 3 - 2 8 4 - 5 4 7 0 Christ Community Ministries - 5 0 3 - 2 8 2 - 7 6 8 3 SEI Community Services -- 5 0 3 - 2 8 5 - 0 4 9 3 Client Choice Grocery Warehouse-PACS - 5 0 3 - 2 5 2 - 8 5 0 0 x l l 8 Salvation Army Moore Street Center - 5 0 3 - 4 9 3 - 3 9 2 7 Community Service Center- Transition Projects -- 5 0 3 - 8 2 3 - 4 9 3 0 Salvation Army Portland Tabernacle - 5 0 3 - 2 3 9 - 1 2 6 4 Crossroads Cupboard - 5 0 3 - 2 5 7 - 9 3 4 5 SnowCap - 5 0 3 - 6 7 4 - 8 7 8 5 Portland Impact - 5 0 3 - 9 8 8 - 6 0 0 0 St. Andrew Emergency Services - 9 7 1 - 2 4 4 - 0 3 3 9 Downtown Chapel of St. Vincent de Paul Parish - 5 0 3 - 2 2 8 - 0 7 4 6 St. Mark's Lutheran Church Food Pantry-- 5 0 3 - 7 7 7 - 1 4 4 3 El Programa Hlspano-Portland - 5 0 3 - 2 3 6 - 9 6 7 0 St. Vincent de Paul Portland Council - 5 0 3 - 2 3 5 - 8 4 3 1 Emergency Food Box Program - 5 0 3 - 2 8 8 - 1 0 5 5 Sunshine Division - 5 0 3 - 8 2 3 - 2 1 2 0 Esther’s Pantry - 5 0 3 - 3 4 9 - 4 6 9 9 Toys and Joy Makers - 5 0 3 - 2 3 1 - 8 6 9 7 Fish Emergency Service - 5 0 3 - 2 3 3 - 5 5 3 3 Union Gospel Mission - 5 0 3 - 2 7 4 - 4 4 8 3 Food Box Ministry - 5 0 3 - 9 1 6 - 4 0 0 9 We Care Food M arket/Food Box Program - 5 0 3 - 2 8 7 - 6 3 4 3 Francis Center - 5 0 3 - 7 7 5 - 6 7 5 4 William Temple House - 5 0 3 - 2 2 6 - 3 0 2 1 Good Samaritan Center of North Portland -- 8 1 6 0 N Jersey Ave. William Temple House North -- 5 0 3 - 2 8 3 - 3 5 1 1 Helping Hand Emergency Food - 5 0 3 - 2 9 2 - 9 2 9 3 YWCA Homeless Services - 5 0 3 - 7 2 1 - 6 7 6 0 Hope House Food Bank - 5 0 3 - 2 8 2 - 8 9 6 0 President-Elect Builds Team continued from Front and his six new est appointees. W hile G ates will stay at the P en­ tagon, O bam a said the m ilitary’s new m ission will be “responsibly ending the war in Iraq through a successful transition to Iraqi con­ trol.” He said a new ly com pleted agreem ent between Iraq and the Bush administration covering U.S. troops signals “a transition pe­ riodin which our mission is chang­ ing.” He added: “It indicates we are now on a glide path to reduce our forces in Iraq.” O bam a has now selected half his Cabinet, including the high- profile jobs at State, D efense, Justice and Treasury. A week ago, he nam ed his econom ic team , led by T im othy G eithner as treasury secretary. And soon he plans to announce New M exico Gov. Bill Richardson as com m erce secre­ tary and form er Senate M ajority Leader Tom Daschle as health and hum an services secretary. O bam a's picks suggest he is m indful o f his ow n relative inex­ perience; m ost o f the appointees have decades m ore experience in governm ent than he does as a form er one-term Illinois senator. T he selections also reflect his long-voiced desire to invite di­ vergent view points to chart the best course for the country. "I assem bled this team because I'm a strong believer in strong personalities and strong o pin­ ions," he said. "I think that's how the best decisions are m a d e .... So I'm going to be w elcom ing a vig­ orous debate inside the W hite H ouse." "But understand I will be set­ tin g policy as p resid en t," he added. He said he will be respon­ sible for "the vision that this team carries out, and I expect them to im plem ent that vision once deci­ sions are made." Q uoting H arry S. T rum an, O bam a said: "The buck will stop Times are hard and money is tight. The follow­ ing numbers may provide some much needed help. For a more extensive list, call 211. DHS: PUBLIC HEALTH DIVISION Protecting ONE takes EVERYONE! Is your family protected against pertussis? Pertussis can occur at any age, but infants and young children ■■anrac Older children, ado and parents who may can spread the disease to infants and young children. The new Tdap vaccine w ill help protect your family. U .S. S e n . Hillary C linton with P re sid e n t-e le c t B a ra ck O bam a. with me.' "The tim e has com e for a new beginning, a new daw n o f A m eri­ can leadership to overcom e the challenges o f the 21st century," O bam a said. Clinton will give up her seat as a senator from New York to join the Cabinet. H erappointm ent was preceded by lengthy negotiations involving her husband, the former president, w hose international business connections posed po­ tential conflicts o f interests. Holder, a former Justice Depart­ ment official in theClinton admin- istration, led Obama's vice presi­ dential search, while Rice was his top foreign policy adviser. Jones, meanwhile, advised both Obama and Republican presidential nomi­ nee John McCain during the cam ­ paign on national security issues. Last year he led a commission that advised Congress on progress in training Iraqi security forces. C linton, H older, N apolitano ^ 'P o r tla n d QDbseruer and Rice require Senate confirm a­ tion. Jones, as a W hite House official, does no,. N or does Gates, already confirm ed to his post. O^rtnership ^ “ Irhiidr“ For more information, please call your health care provider or U800-SAFENET to find out where you can get a pertussis vaccination. v >T dhs independent Healthy Safe SEASONS N O W D E L IV E R IN G Y o u r fa v o rite n e ig h b o r h o o d g r o c e r y s to re n o w d e liv e rs g r o c e r ie s rig h t to y o u r h o m e o r o ffic e . Established 1970 USPS 959-680 _______________________________ 4 7 4 7 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.. Portland, OR 97211 Charles H. Washington EoiTOK.Michael L eig h to n D is tr ib u tio n M anaufb : M ark W ashington C b fa tivf D irecto r : P aul N e u fe ld t E ditob - in -C h if f , P ubushfb : The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions Manuscripts and photographs sh