Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 2015)
October 14, 2015 Page 3 INSIDE The Week in Review O PINION This page Sponsored by: page 2 pages 8-9 L OCAL N EWS No Place to Call Home Housing emergency has no clear answers o livia o livia t he p ortland o bserver It’s the middle of a weekday afternoon and Thomas Edward Mullen has just taken the bus downtown for his three minutes on a microphone. He, like scores of other residents, long prepared their short speeches to deliver to the City Council on their housing woes. Mullen’s story is not that dif- ferent from many others heard that day: He had a home, many years ago, but lost it. He aged; he was injured, and could not afford to pay for rent and medical care without a job. As you can guess, precious few employers were in- terested in hiring an aging, dis- abled black man. Soon, Mullen says he found himself on the streets, where he lived for several years. Now he’s at the Clark Center on Martin Luther King Boulevard, a 90-bed short-term residential program for men that provides the supports needed to move out of homeless- ness. The complex features an on- site computer lab, mental health counseling, life skills, and case management, but stays are only up to four months. Mullen does not know where he will live next. “If I were a country, I’d have my flag turned upside down,” Mullen said about his situation. “I’m old, I can’t work no more. I put so many years in and lost my home, and now I have no where left to go.” by M ETRO page 11 pages 10-17 Arts & ENTERTAINMENT C LASSIFIEDS O BITUARIES C ALENDAR F OOD page 17 page 18 page 19 page 20 photo by o livia o livia /t he p ortland o bserver Thomas Edward Mullen, a Portland resident who lost his home to homelessness, awaits his turn to speak during last week’s dis- cussion of a citywide housing emergency before the Portland City Council. He stared at the line of others wanting to speak, and said he was not sure if he would even be al- lowed to talk due to the number of people. “It’s a long shot but I want to try, I came here today to try,” he said. The urgency and concern from renters was palpable during the Oct. 7 hearing. So were the ten- sions between tenants and land- lords, city developers and local and state leaders. Katrina Holland, deputy direc- tor for the Community Alliance of Tenants, explained that her orga- nization has been trying to more clearly focus on the affordability of renting in the area. “Affordable housing – what they usually mean is subsidized housing or state housing – is not enough and not what we are fo- cusing on. That’s why we re-es- tablished this as a Renters’ State of Emergency, not just a housing C ontinued on p age 4 First Indigenous Peoples’ Day Portland celebrated its first ever Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Mon- day changing what was formerly known as Columbus Day. Joining several other commu- nities across America, the Port- land City Council adopted the holiday as a way to support lo- cal native communities on what was traditionally a day used to celebrate the colonization of the Americas. Portland is home to the ninth-largest Native American population in the United States, and its urban Native community is descended from more than 200 tribes. The history of indigenous communities in Portland is wo- ven into the fabric of the city; a shared commitment to environ- mental stewardship and love of place continue to make Portland a leader in sustainability and liva- bility, officials said. “The movement to make this day a reality in the U.S began decades ago, so this resolution is long overdue,” said Dante James, director of Portland’s Office of Equity and Human Rights. “I am pleased that Portland is honoring the history, spirit and contribu- tions of American Indian com- munities with whom we share our city and region.”