December 7, 2011
’B'* JJortlanh OOhserUer
IN S ID E
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Fred Meyer
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photo by M indy C ikiper /T he P ortland O bserver
Jefferson High School Principal Margaret Calvert addresses a public forum on efforts to reduce
youth violence in the community.
Action on Gangs Wanted
Forum draws
community
response
by M indy C ixiper
tNIIIIAINHIM
pages 12-16
T he P ortland O bserver
More than 50 members of the
community, many who have been
personally impacted by gang vio
lence, attended a forum last week to
say the time for action is now, or
youth bloodshed will never come to
an end.
The m eeting T hursday at
Jefferson High School had educa
tors, policy makers, police officers
and community members gathered
together in an attempt to find solu
tions to the rising rate of youth gang-
related violence within the city.
“This forum is so timely,” said
Tina Bouillion, program director of
LifeWorks Northwest, an organiza
tion dedicated to providing services
to teenagers who suffer from be
havioral and drug issues.
The first speaker of the evening
asked for a raise of hands if anyone
had been touched by youth vio
lence. Within seconds, the majority
of those within the room lifted their
arms, looking around to see they
were not alone.
“How many still feel something
can be done about it?” he added.
Once more, arms rose quietly into
the air.
According to Oscar Gilson, an
administrator for Jefferson’s Middle
College Program, the issues of youth
violence are very “close to home.”
Jefferson Principal M argaret
Calvert said gang-related activity
has made her position challenging,
but the violence throughout the
surrounding neighborhoods does
not reflect the quality of her school.
“Here at Jefferson we need to be
good neighbors,” she said.
Calvert said there is a need for the
community to create more opportu
nities for youth outside of school.
A panel o f respected individu
als and stakeholders had their own
perspectives o f how to combat
the issues before opening the floor
to the rest o f the attendees in the
room.
Information tables for organiza
tions, including Big Brother Big Sis
ter and Connection, along with pam
phlets on community resources
were provided to help people be
come more involved and network
for change.
Although there were multiple
perspectives on which tactics could
truly make a difference to curb the
violence within the community, ev
eryone agreed that something needs
to change, and words are no longer
enough.
«w
C lassifieds
•*» TriMet Youth Passes Saved
D ecember C alendar page 19
F o o d
page 20
TriMet, the city of Portland, and
Portland School District have com
bined resources to save a program
giving local students free passes on
public transportation for the cur
rent school year.
The YouthPass program started
in 2(X)8 for students at Jefferson and
Franklin High Schools. The next year
it was expanded to all Portland high
schools, and 80 percent of these
youth report use of the pass on a
regular basis.
Mayor Sam Adams said, “When
I met with students on the first day
of school this year, I heard how
important the YouthPass is for the
many students who don’t have a
safe and reliable alternative way to
get to school every day.”
The funding gap was closed
with $375,000 in discounts from
TriM et, $75,000 from the school
district and $225,000 from the city
o f Portland.
Besides helping families finan
cially, the YouthPass program re
duces traffic congestion around
neighborhood schools, lowers car
bon e m issio n s in su p p o rt o f
Portland’s Climate Action Plan, and
nurtures the next generation of tran
sit users.