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M a y 13. 2 0 0 9
Advocate Builds Community Ties
was recently recognized by the City
of Portland's Office of Neighbor­
hood Involvement crime prevention
program.
Mary Tompkins, the program ’s
crime prevention coordinator, nomi­
nated the group for their success in
keeping the peace.
"They are an excellent resource,”
she said. "They are available for
spontaneous crisis.”
M iller said his commitment to
helping at-risk youth stems from his
ow n experience grow ing up in
Florida, and the lack of outreach
available to impressionable adoles­
cents.
“I just go back to when 1 was a
kid," said Miller. "We didn’t have
these different avenues out there."
He added that it’s especially vital
to have positive adult figures in the
lives of adolescents who may not
have ideal home situations.
“A kid needs to be a kid, and when
they don’t have that father figure,
kids, especially the males want to
be grown at 15,” said Miller.
David Miller
can’t say ‘no’
to helping kids
by J ake T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
(story)
David Miller has been doing
outreach to troubled youth for
just shy of two decades. Dur­
ing this time he’s developed a
basic rule for dealing with kids:
He won’t lie to them, he won’t
lie about them, and won’t lie for
them.
Young people already have
to too many false promises, he
said.
Miller has worked tirelessly
to build enough trust to set
troubled youth on the straight
and narrow and make the city
safer.
But Miller isn’t in it for the
praise.
Ever since the 46-year-old
emigrated from Daytona Beach,
Fla. to Portland at the behest of
his sister, he’s worked in vari­
ous social services agencies
beginning with the House of
Umoja mentoring adolescent
males.
He bounced around similar
organizations, with his last gig
being a gang specialist with the
Northeast Coalition of Neigh­
borhoods. The funding for his
position ran out in 2008, but
M iller continued doing o u t­
reach on a volunteer basis.
“I knew that was my calling,
to work with kids,” said Miller.
“1 just can’t say ‘no’ to kids who
photo by
Rough Patch for
Social Services
continued ^ ^ J ro in Front
on. That's not very bright.”
He also has been encouraging the Legislature to reform
two property tax measures approved by voters in the 1990s.
Measures 5 and 50 cap how much property assess­
ments can rise. Wheeler said that this is problematic be­
cause tax rates are no longer tied to actual property value,
and the county isn't getting all the tax revenue it should
be.
Wheeler is also critical of the city's use of tax increment
financing. This is a tool used by city governments where
tax revenue from a designated district is diverted from
county and municipal coffers and is used instead to sup­
port a specific project, like building a soccer stadium.
The financing instrument starves money away from the
county and limits its ability to provide basic service, and
has no say in when or where its used, said Wheeler. He’s
been supporting a bill that would give the county a say
before the city government can use it.
“1 want those pet projects weighed against core ser­
vices,” said Wheeler.
Wheeler also mentioned that the county has also been
working to reduce recidivism and get former offenders
jobs, and has also partnered with the federal government
on a project to reduce the health inequities based on race.
M ark W ashington /T hf . P ortland O bserver
David Miller is committed to helping at-risk youth.
U sually the presence o f a
need my help.”
As a TriMet Riders’ Advo­ R id ers A d v o c a te , w earin g
cate, Miller works to diffuse ex­ TriMet ball caps, is enough to
plosive situations before they deter would-be disruptive rid­
ers from acting out, or fights
start.
He spends most of his work between adolescents from oc­
day, which is usually from 2 p.m. curring.
But Miller has the added ad­
to 10 p.m., riding the bus and
light rail, often times near high vantage of his long-established
schools in northeast Portland. connections with youth and
Kids rimming with energy after can use this rapport to ease a
a long school day sometimes tense situation before the po­
get row dy, w hich is w here lice have to get involved.
The Riders’ Advocate team
Miller comes in.
Trades Scholarships Offered
The program is open to students currently en­
rolled in a building and construction trade school
program who will be entering into the final year
or term of their degree or career program.
S tu d en ts can log onto h o m ed e p o t.c o m /
tradescholarship or call 1 -877-743-5327to learn
more and apply. The application deadline is
June 20.
Students at Portland Community College are
eligible for the Home Depot’s first-ever Trade
Scholarship Program.
The company will award more than $300,000
in scholarships nationwide to more than 600
building and construction trade students to
help offset the cost of tuition, fees, books and
supplies.
fr id a y a u g u s t 28
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