August 31. 2011
Page 18
C lassified / B ids
Hands Across the Bridge
continued
To Place Your Classified Advertisement
Community Organizers Wanted!!!
Contact:
Working America / AFL-CIO is hiring
cam paign w orke rs to ta ke our
country back from the political
forces th a t favor the wealthy and
corporate special interests over
your well-being!
Phone: 503-288-0033
Fax: 503-288-0015
e-mail: classifieds@ portlandobserver.com
For contracting opportunities with the City of
Portland, visit the Procurement Services website at:
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D iv e rs ity is h ig h ly v a lu e d a t
Working America: Women, people
o f color, and LGBT a p p lic a n ts
s tro n g ly e n c o u ra g e d to apply.
$457.60 week base pay - Entry
Level. Fun work environment. EOE.
Call Kirby or Chelsea at
5 0 3 .2 2 4 .1 0 0 4
www.workingamerica.org
Steel Buildings
Factory Direct
Discounted inventory
33x39, 42x57, 54x99, 60x156
Misc. Material Available
Source # 1E9
866-609-4321
1120 SW Fifth Avenue Room 750
Portland Oregon 97204
Volunteers to Serve on Portland City
503-823-6855
SUB-BIDS REQUESTED
Los Jardines de La Paz
Construction Defect Repairs of One Multi-Family Building
Beyer Court Apartments
Construction Defect Repairs of Three Multi-Family Building
Bid Due Date: September 12, 2011
Plans and Specifications can be picked up at our office at the
address below. Contact David Hudson to make arrangements.
HORIZON
RESTORATION
Horizon Restoration
7235 SW Bonita Road
Portland, Oregon 97224
Phone:(503)620-2215
Fax: (503) 624-0523
We are an equal opportunity employer and request sub-bids from all
subcontractors and suppliers including minority, women owned businesses,
disadvantaged, disabled veterans, and emerging small business enterprises.
OR CCB:
SUB-BIDS REQUESTED
PCRI “ BIG 11” REHABILITATION PROJECT
R epair and renovation of 11 scattered site rental hom es
17 14 NE H ig h la n d , P o rtla n d , O R 97211
Bidding instructions and specifications are at O AM E o r online at
httD s:/^ites.QQQQle.com/a/albinaconstnj ction.com /ww w /pcridocs
Bids a re due W ed n e sd ay, S e p te m b e r 14, 201 1 a t 12:30p
Albina Construction LLC
2613 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Suite D
Portland, OR 97212
Office:
914-1713
lnfo@albinaconstruction.com
We are an equal opportunity employer and request sub-bids from all subcontractors and
suppliers including minonty. women owned businesses, disadvantaged, disabled veterans.
and emerging small business enterprises
CCB U 193841
Tl ie Portland Observer
Call 503-288-0033
The Independent Police Review
(IPR) division is P ortland’s civilian
p o lic e
o v e rs ig h t
a g ency,
established in 2 0 0 2 under the
a u th o rity o f th e in d e p e n d e n tly
e le c te d C ity A u d ito r. IPR is
m onitored and advised by a nine-
m em ber
C itiz e n
R eview
Committee (CRC). The City Auditor
and IPR Director are seeking five
v o lu n te e rs to serve th ree-year
terms, positions com m encing in
January 2 0 1 2 .
CRC m em bers hear com m unity
a n d P o rtla n d P o lic e B u re a u
m e m b e r a p p e a ls o f p o lic e
m isconduct investigations, listen
to public concerns regarding police
160672 conduct, engage in training and
o th e r a c tiv itie s to learn a b o u t
policing, review Portland Police
Bureau policies and procedures,
an d a d v is e IPR on c o m p la in t
handling processes.
A Non-Mandatory pre-bid meeting will be conducted on September 7. 2Q11 at 1 PM
Advertise with diversity in
Auditor’s independent Police Review
Division’s CmZEN REVIEW COMMITTEE
C a n d id a te s m u s t be P ortland,
Oregon re s id e n ts or b u s in e s s
o w n e rs an d be im p a rtia l and
objective w ith a lack o f real or
perceived conflicts of interest for
o r a g a in s t law e n fo rc e m e n t.
Applications are available at the
IPR
o ffic e
or
o n lin e
at
www.portlandoregon.gov/auditor/
ipr. Applications m ust be received
at the IPR office in City Hall by 5:00
pm on Wednesday, September 28,
2011.
Delivery can be made by: mail or
in p e rs o n a t 1 2 2 1 S.W . 4 th
Avenue, Room 3 2 0 , Portland,
OR
97204;
e -m a il
at
crc@portlandoregon.gov: or fax at
50 3-823-3530. Questions, please
call IPR’s main line 503-823-0146.
from page 11
she said she learned to inject heroin
using her toes -just in case.
M etaphorically under the same
bridge as W edge, and som etim es
under the actual same bridge, Katz
continued to do as many drugs as
she could, only to “wake up and
be pissed that 1 was still alive”.
Her realization of hitting bot­
tom came in the vision o f a little
old lady rocking in a chair with no
arms. In jail on a 90-day stint, Katz
decided to live and not die in limbo.
Out of jail at midnight with no
plans and just $ 1.25 to her name,
she s h u ttle d to d o w n to w n
Vancouver and checked into a
Clean and Sober Club.
From then on, Katz attended
m eetings, stayed sober, and after
two years of transitional housing,
got her first jo b at Hooper Detox
where she re-united with a recov­
ering W edge. As a volunteer
spokesw om an for a “drug-free
workplace,” Katz became publicly
involved in breaking the stigma of
addiction for herself and others.
A fter “ using” for 35 years,
W edge spent her last 14 months
of prison in a drug program . At
first she rejected the steps to re­
covery, just wanting to be free
from prison, but her attitude fi­
nally changed. She took the only
jo b she could get -sc ru b b in g
prison floors. With treatm ent, her
self-esteem rose as she worked
her way up and out.
Once sober, W edge struggled
with finding a place to live, “N o­
body wants to rent to you if you
have a record and any credit you
have is bad,” she said. Nearly 20
apartm ents denied her before she
found one em pathetic landlord.
W edge told him, “If you rent to
me, I will be the best tenant you
will ever have,” and for seven
years, she was. She became certi­
fied as a drug and alcohol counse­
lor and soon could afford her own
house. Now, she is a m entor for
H ARRP, a recovery program that
provides transitional services to
men and women com ing out of
prison.
In 2001, Katz and Wedge de­
cided they would stand on top of
the Burnside Bridge at daybreak
to celebrate that they were no
longer under the bridge in their
ad d ictio n s, but on top o f the
bridge to celebrate their recovery.
Marking a tradition for years to
com e, Patty Katz and Louise
W edge h eld the first H ands
Across the Bridge celebration on
the 1-5 bridge in 2002 with about
200 people in attendance while
the following year's event grew to
include 500 people.
Today, Katz works as the Pro­
gram D irector for Beyond B arri­
ers, and along with other volun­
teers, mostly recovering addicts
wanting to build leadership skills.
She helps organize the Hands
Across the Bridge event year af­
ter year.
Katz says the biggest prize of
the event is watching form er ad­
dicts do things th ey ’ve never
done before; evolving from a vol­
unteer the first year to a mentor
the next, and finally, to a leader in
the recovering community.
“I am just so proud to hear them
bear their souls to the com m u­
nity,” she said, “Sharing stories
helps break the stigma of addic­
tion and puts a face and voice to
recovery.” This year’s them e is
Recovery benefits everyone.
on the event on Monday, attend­
ees will hear from Washington’s
Clark County Commissioner Mark
Bolt and State Sen. Craig Pridemore,
and from Multnomah County Com­
missioner Judy Shiprack, State Rep.
Michael Dembrow, and State Rep.
Lew Frederick.
Ivette T o rres o f SA M H SA
(Substance Abuse Mental Health
Services Association) and Rhode
Island’s Steve Gumbley o f Faces
and Voices of Recovery will also
speak at the event.
The Hands Across the Bridge
Project is sponsored by Partner­
ship for Safety and Justice, C en­
tral City Concern, Samhsa, ATTC,
A&E, Lifeline Connections, and
others.
S u b s c r ib e ! 503-288-°033
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