‘City
of
Roses’
Volume XLVIII • Number 23
Power to the
People Tour
Good in
the Hood
A walking
tour of black
historic sites
Images from
Saturday’s
parade!
See Metro, page 6
See photo essay,
page 8
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • June 26, 2019
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Michael Booker, beloved for his
community advocacy work, died Friday
at the age of 64.
Safe, Clean
and Sober
Leader Dies
photo by D anny p eterson /t he p ortlanD o bserver
Representatives of Self Enhancement, Inc., the non-profit serving the African American community, and the Portland Water
Bureau, are assisting qualifying low income households and those in temporary financial crisis with financial support to help
pay their water and sewer bills. Pictured (from left) are Melissa Navarro of SEI, Anna McDonald of the Water Bureau, Sahaan
McKelvey of SEI, Corbett White of the Water Bureau, Megan McGinnis of SEI and Fabiola Casas of the Water Bureau.
Helping Make Ends Meet
SEI and Water
Bureau assist
low income
by D anny p eterson
t he p ortlanD o bserver
Representatives from Portland Water
Bureau and Self Enhancement, Inc. are on
a mission to let economically struggling
families know about the financial assis-
tance options the city utility offers, which
have been increased this past year.
The Water Bureau has expanded dis-
counts for qualifying low income house-
holds and those in temporary financial
crisis, opened a relocated and more trans-
portation-friendly office, and established
community partnerships with culturally
specific groups, like Self Enhancement
Inc., the non-profit serving the African
American community of Portland.
All those actions spelled good news for
Iva, a senior citizen who was living off of
a fixed social security income when health
issues brought her in and out of the hospital
for a six week stretch. Her water bills fell
behind and she accrued late fees, unable to
do much else other than focus on her health.
Thanks to Water Bureau’s utility crisis
voucher—which recently increased from
$150 to $500—Iva was able to get back on
top of her payments after she got well.
“We were able to help her out,” Melissa
Navarro, an SEI Intake Coordinator, told
the Portland Observer.
Navarro recalled others she’s helped in
similar situations, including a single parent
who had lost her job, living off of savings,
and had been denied unemployment; and
another single mom whose car, which she
depended on to make ends meet working
for both Uber and Lyft, suddenly needed
costly repair.
“Personally, I just love my job because
a lot of times people…you can see them
getting teary eyed and cry, they’re just so
grateful. I mean, I get hugs every week so
it just feels good to be able to do that type
of work,” Navarro said.
Though the utility crisis voucher can
only be used per customer once per 12
month period, the Portland Water Bureau
C ontinueD on p age 11
Miracles Club director
had life of advocacy
D anny p eterson
t he p ortlanD o bserver
A longtime advocate of the African
American community of Portland passed
away Friday after an unexpected liver can-
cer diagnosis just three weeks prior.
Michael Booker, 64, most recently
helmed the executive director position at the
Miracles Club, a non-profit for recovering
addicts of the African American community.
“The reaction is there is a lot of sadness.
The community is mourning. What I’ll say
just from my personal perspective is that ev-
erybody has a special story about Michael or
about their relationship with Michael,” Lil-
iana McDonald, who is the Miracles Club
program director and also shares a child
with Booker, told the Portland Observer.
McDonald confirmed that in late May
Booker was diagnosed with liver cancer and
found out a week later that it was very se-
rious.
“He was an icon of the community,” Mc-
Donald added.
Before taking over as Executive Director
by
C ontinueD on p age 12