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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 2015)
August 26, 2015 The Page 3 INSIDE Week in Review page 2 This page Sponsored by: L ocal N ews pages 6-7 O pinion page 9 M etro photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver Dorothy Rodriguez-Anderson, founder and president of the My Life Directive Foundation, reaches out to Vancouver’s homeless women population to offer much-needed support. Helping the Homeless Vancouver advocate petitions for women’s shelter O livia O livia T he P ortland O bserver A local activist with a passion for helping those in need is working tirelessly to garner attention and resources for the homeless women of Vancouver. Dorothy Rodriguez-Anderson has already round- ed up local volunteers and helped gather a slew of donated food and materials for homeless camps. Her work as founder of the non-profit foundation My Life Directive has helped better connect Van- couver’s homeless with each other and with her re- sources, and many residents in need have come to know her and rely on her for material supplies and emotional support. Anderson, however, says she needs the city’s help to move forward. She is asking the Vancouver City Council to help create a shelter specifically for homeless women. With over 40,000 supporters on her online petition, she is hoping community pres- sure will help bring resources to a local community by pages 8-13 Arts & ENTERTAINMENT C lassifieds C alendar F ood page 14 page 15 C ontinued on P age 5 Fund to Support Minority Entrepreneurs Jurisdictions join forces to raise $3 million page 16 in need. “Each night that I spend with these girls watching them struggle, afraid and uncertain, I keep asking myself how long they will continue to be ignored. It’s horrific,” Anderson said. Astounded by the enormity of the problem, she cannot imagine overlooking the needs of people liv- ing on the streets. Because she too was homeless as a young teen, she has firsthand experience on what people face when they don’t have a safe place to lay their heads. Anderson says she wants Vancouver to create a women’s shelter in specific because of the kind of violence women in particular find on the streets of the city. Homeless woman are raped and beaten so often they don’t even report it because they are vic- tim-blamed when they do, she said. “To be raped and then have to suffer a rape exam O livia O livia T he P ortland O bserver by Portland’s economic develop- ment agency, Portland Develop- ment Commission, has launched a startup fund specifically dedi- cated supporting and cultivating entrepreneurs from local African Americans and other underrepre- sented populations. The Inclusive Startup Fund be- gins with $500,000 contributions each from the PDC and Mult- nomah County, and a $250,000 commitment by the state of Or- egon through the office of Gov. C ontinued on P age 5
