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O c to b e r IO, 2012
IN S ID E
R eligion
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FredMeyer
What's on your list today?.
pages 5
H ealth
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M i t
Sil
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M E T IRLO
PHOTO BY CARI H a CHMANN/T h E PORTLAND OBSERVER
Lines for Life suicide and substance abuse hotline clinical director Leslie Storm encourages people
in a mental crisis or who may be thinking about killing themselves to call and talk to someone at
Lines for Life before calling 9-1-1.
page 11
Mental Health Crisis
Advocates speak out on suicide prevention
C ari H achmann
With suicides on the rise in Port
land, public and mental health offi
cials are stepping up to break its
stigma and get more people the help
they need.
“Once we can address the under
lying mental health concerns openly
and without shame, we can encour
age those who are struggling to
seek treatment,” said Judy Cushing,
founder and chief executive officer
by
of Lines for Life, formerly Oregon
Partnership, the metro area’s go-to
suicide and substance abuse crisis
prevention line.
The National Alliance on Mental
Illn e ss re c e n tly re c o g n ize d
Cushing, and former Oregon State
Sen. Avel Gordly, a longtime local
African-American leader, for their
leadership in mental health issues
and suicide prevention.
One way suicides are surfacing
in the news recently is through the
Portland Police Bureau public infor
mation office, which has decided to
publicize mental health crisis and
suicide-related calls.
In recent reports, what appears
to be an ongoing onslaught of men
tal health crises is actually just busi
ness as usual for the police officers
responding to the emergencies.
continued
on page 4
Voter Registration Deadline Nears
pages 12-15
C alendar
C lassifieds
page 17
pages 18-19
Multnomah County Elections reminds voters that
Tuesday, Oct. 16 is the voter registration deadline for
the Nov. 6 vote-by-mail election.
O re g o n v o te rs c a n r e g is te r o n lin e at
oregonvotes.org. The process requires a valid O r
egon driver’s license, drivers perm it or ID card. The
system also allow s changes in your m ailing ad
dress and party affiliation. Voters can also check
their registration status at oregonvotes.org.
V oters w ithout online access can obtain a regis
tration cards at the M ultnom ah County Elections
office, 1040 S.E. M orrison St., offices of the Oregon
D epartm ent o f M otor Vehicles, post offices and
libraries.
V oters already registered do not have to re
register unless they move. Ballots will not be for
warded to new addresses.
W alk-in voter registrations will be accepted at
the elections office through 5 p.m. on Tuesday. A
U.S. Postal Service postm ark o f Oct. 16 for mail
subm ission will also be accepted. Online registra
tions m ust be sent before m idnight on Oct. 16.
Ballots for the Nov. 6 election will be m ailed to
voters on Oct. 19. M ultnom ah County voters who
have questions, should call M ultnom ah County
Elections at 503-988-3720.