Portland observer., June 06, 2012, Image 1

Waters of
Change
Changing
Course
Tour remembers
city o f Vanport
See Metro, page 11
Good in the Hood
sets table with a
new location
See Local News, page 3
UNE 22 • 6pm-9 30pm
W LOCATION « . | | .
JUNE 23 & 24 • Nooi
_ .. .
a riumji st> LliilS ■ Albina Pari
in 1970
Established ¡n
Read back issues o f the Portland Observer at www.portlandobserver.com
’City
of Roses’
J J
Volume XXXXI, Number 21
Wednesday • June 6, 2012
Committed to Cultural Diversity j
•'community service
j
Taking Aim
at Abuse
Domestic
violence work
has its rewards
by M indy C ooper
T he P ortland O bserver
Stuart Walker, 40, has worked his
entire career to ensure Portland
homes are healthy, safe and abuse
free.
A sa parole officer for the domes­
tic violence unit in the Multnomah
county Department of Community
Justice, Walker is determined to re­
duce violence or physical abuse
directed toward spouses or domes­
tic partners that more than often
happens behind closed doors.
“The goal of what I do is to re­
duce recidivism— to have less crime
over time,” he said.
Walker, a resident of north Port­
land, was just named Oregon’s pa­
photo by M indy C ooper TT he P ortland O bserver
Stuart Walker said being a parole officer in domestic violence cases is n ’t easy, but he gets satisfac­ role and probation officer of the
year by the Oregon Department of
tion in helping victims and knowing that a lot o f how well they will do in the future depends on how
Corrections.
diligently he works on his cases.
“It is an immense honor,” said
Walker. “There are a lot o f POs
doing a lot of great work. Just to be
noticed, let alone to be picked as the
PO of the year, is a great honor.”
Walker said there have been a
num ber o f profound m om ents
throughout his career, when he felt
the importance of his job.
On a home visit to one of his
clients, an older man on probation
who had previously broken his
wife’s wrist during an argument,
Walker interrupted another assault
once he arrived. Because the man
was in such bad health. Walker said
his client had ordered one of his
sons to also assault his wife, who
was boy’s mom.
“It was a profound moment be­
cause you could see all of the risk of
another generation using the same
violence in relationships, but in the
most extreme way.”
Although Walker said being a
parole officer isn’t easy, there are
continued
Finding Inspiration
in Haitian Roots
Honored graduate
determined to
make a difference
W hen a devastating earthquake
struck Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010, Ewald
Estanis couldn't reach his m other, five
brothers and five sisters.
"I was really fearful," said the 27-
year-old Estanis, who was in his first
year at Portland Com m unity College
when the quake struck.
"It's one of those tim es where you
definitely want to be with your family,
especially when you haven't heard
from them for over a week; no phone
calls or any other com m unication," he
said.
W ithout really knowing the fate of
his fam ily, the northeast Portland resi­
dent boarded a Haiti-bound flight with
a medical team to help with the rescues
and recovery.
A fluent speaker of Creole, French,
Spanish and English, Estanis served
as a medical interpreter for two weeks
continued
on page 8
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on page 4
Ewald Estanis
preserved past
obstacles in
his native
Haiti, and
bumps
adapting to his
new country, to
graduate from
Portland
Community
College. He
will deliver the
student
address at
Saturday's
commence­
ment cer­
emony.