Women at
Risk for HIV
Survivors
Local healer
works to empower
those 50 and older
See Metro, page 11
Sing Out
Worship in Pink
breast cancer
choir group
performs
See page 19
r l
A A
Read back issues ol the Portland Observer at www.portlandobserver.com
'City
of Roses’
Volume XXXXI, Number 43
. Wednesday • October 26. 2011
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
photo by
Pumpkins and
Halloween
12
ryi
T2X?
of
community service
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Two-year-old twins Sawyer and Wyatt of northeast Portland go hunting for pumpkins
at the Bella Organic Portland Pumpkin Farm on Sauvie Island, 16205 N. W Gillihan
Pd. See inside for a calendar of Halloween events, festive reci pies and other activi
ties to enjoy.
Building Bridges to a Strong Future
Founder o f non-profit helps at-risk youth achieve
by M indy C ooper
T he P ortland O bserver
After a childhood filled with others tram
pling on her self-esteem, one local woman is
determined to keep Portland’s at-risk youth
Patricia Feathers works to
empower local youth with
personal development training
as founder o f the non-profit
Urban Bridges Studio.
photo by M indy C ooper /
T he P ortland O bserver
off the streets by teaching them how to raise
their self-confidence and become empow
ered through etiquette and personal devel
opment training as building blocks to a
strong future.
Patricia Feathers, the founder of the north
east non-profit youth organization Urban
Bridges Studio, Inc., was four-years-old
when she was taken from her mother after
her dad moved her to Buffalo, New York.
She was soon placed with family member
after family member throughout the south
ern states, where she said they mentally,
physically and psychologically abused her.
‘They always told me, nobody is ever gonna’
love you,” she said.
At the age of 15, however. Feathers said
she found the strength to somehow prove
them wrong.
“So many kids listen to that verbal abuse,
and they act out,” she said.
According to Feathers, many of the chil
dren who go through Urban Bridges come
from parents who tell them they won’t make
it to 20, they will end up in jail, they will
become pregnant before they get out of high
continued
on page 10