Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 8, 2010)
‘City o f Roses’ Rain Water Blok Woes Asset Program offers resources Grow Worse Urban League report tells story See Local 4 1 See Sustainability, page 5 News, page 3 years* •''community service Volume XXXX, Number 35 Established in 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity w w w .p o rtla n d o b s e rv e r.c o m Wednesday • September 8. 2010 A Lifeline for Victims One-stop domestic violence center opens The Gateway jf~ ~ by J ake T homas T he P ortland O bserver Survivors o f dom estic violence no longer have to trek from place to place to access the resources they need to escape their abusers and establish new lives, a process that can be vexing as it is time consum ing. The Gateway Center for Domes tic Violence Services is celebrating its opening this week at 10305 E. Burnside St., serving as a “one- stop” place for people trying to break free from an abusive partner. The whole idea behind the cen ter is that individuals fleeing an abusive dom estic situation can come to the center’s single location and get most, if not all, o f their needs addressed, rather than hav ing to go to multiple places scat tered across the city. People who utilize it can access legal help, get a shelter referral, file a police report, apply for a domestic violence grant, get food assistance, find a clothing closet, and just have a comfortable environment to take a Martha Strawn Morris directs services for the Gateway Center for Domestic Violence Services, a breather. new one-stop resource for people trying to break free from an abusive partner. Gatewa Center Recovering from Traumatic Events Like Sept. 11, surviving families learn to cope by J ake T homas T he P ortland O bserver After working for more than 20 years helping families recover from tra u m a tic in c id e n ts, D onna Schuurman has learned to avoid using the phrase “getting over it.” Schuurman -- who works as the executive center o f the Dougy Cen ter, a nationally-recognized organi- The comprehensiveness o f the center is made possible by collabo ration between the City o f Portland and Multnomah County, in addi tion to the Oregon Department o f Human Services, LifeworksNW, the Immigrant and Refuge Community Organization, and other organiza tions that will be setting up shop inside. And the services are much needed. According to the Oregon De partment o f Human Services, there were over 34,000 calls for help with domestic violence, which include crisis calls, peer support calls, and calls for information and referral. A 1999 study by Multnomah County found that nearly 14 percent o f women in the county had been physically abused. The needs o f each survivor o f domestic violence vary greatly; and M ultnomah C ounty’s Domestic Violence Resource Guide is 48 pages. Martha Strawn Morris, the direc tor o f the center, explained that people utilizing the center are di rected toward one o f six workers dubbed “navigators,” who inform them o f what resources are avail able to them. "A navigator can take very per sonal concerns and very personal needs and translate that into what services are available,” she said. continued on page 18 zation that helps grieving families - - likens the process o f healing to so m eo n e w ho has been unexpectantly hit by a big wave while on a beach. They might be tossed around, and be hit with an other wave, but sooner or later they learn to keep afloat. This Sept. 11 will mark the ninth anniversary o f a traumatic event that the nation is still recovering from. In Portland, and elsewhere, there are people recovering from Everett Lawrence Briley and his two sons in a family photo. continued on page 7