September 22, 2021
Page 2
The
Week Review
Suspended for Blackface
in
In a statement condemning all
expressions of racism, Newberg
Public Schools placed one of its
elementary school teacher aides
on administrative leave Friday af-
ter showing up for work in Black-
face. The employee was protesting
a vaccine mandate for all school
district staff, calling herself Rosa
Parks in disguise.
No Show for School Buses
ed Oregon law by livestreaming
protests. A representative of the
American Civil Liberties Union
called the decision a victory, “Pro-
test is fundamental to democracy.
Protest is not a crime. Period.”
Nabisco Strike Settled
Against the will of Portland Na-
bisco workers who voted other-
wise, co-striking union members
across the country voted to ac-
cept a new four-year collective
bargaining agreement Saturday
with Mondelez International. The
ratification ends a walkout that
began last month.
A shortage of school bus drivers
caused Portland Public Schools
Monday to cancel 13 bus routes to
Benson and Lincoln High schools
and 16 routes with different pick-
up or drop-off times for the fore- Worst COVID-19 Surge
seeable future. The district said it Oregon was in the midst of its
will offer financial help to families worst COVID-19 surge since the
start of the pandemic last week
whose routes are canceled.
— which health officials say is
Thefts Ground Reynolds Buses fueled by unvaccinated people
Someone stole about 20 catalyt- and the highly transmissible delta
ic converters from school bus- variant. The new forecast predicts
es in the Reynolds School Dis- that hospitals across the state will
trict transportation lot just as the remain under severe strain for the
school year began, causing rough- next two to three months.
ly $70,000 in damage. The district
said it would make adjustments to Rabid Bats Discovered
meet transportation needs while A rabid bat was discovered last
week in northeast Portland, mark-
repairs are made.
ing the first time an animal has
Police Surveillance Illegal
tested positive for the disease in
A Multnomah County Circuit Multnomah County since 2014.
Court judge Monday held that the Another rabid bat was found in
Portland Police Bureau violat- Beaverton a few days earlier.
Annette Majekodunmi, a parent and community engagement supervisor at POIC + Rosemary
Anderson High School works side by side with parents in a Community Healing Initiative.
Help with Parenting
Community healing program offers support
Raising and caring for young lives can be com-
plicated and require steadfast patience and resolve.
Parenting, even during the best of times, is tough.
But factor in financial, emotional and general un-
certainty, as well as the strains of the COVID-19
pandemic — and the layers of challenges grow and
grow.
Tamika, a single mother of two, also has to ac-
count for gun violence that might unfold near her
north Portland home. Or worse, gunfire that may
claim the lives of her children.
“My son’s best friend was shot and killed in
front of his mother’s house last March,” she shares.
“And it was devastating. My son could have also
been right next to his friend.”
Parenting for Tamika has never been a walk
in the park. At a young age, she was a single,
hard-working mom raising two kids. Her son, in
particular, struggled.
“There was myself, my daughter and my son,”
she said. “There was no male figure in my house-
hold. My son missed out on a whole lot.”
From preschool through his first two years in el-
ementary school, a school administrator called her
nearly every day with concerns. Also troubling, she
found people telling her she would never get help
for her son until he was the juvenile justice system.
Fast forward to today, and Tamika’s son is
now unfortunately involved in the justice system.
He also struggles with a disability. The past 18
months have been a rollercoaster of emotion and
stress as the family, as they navigate the impacts of
COVID-19, violence and the court system.
Tamika is not alone. She finds solace among
other parents through POIC + Rosemary Anderson
High School’s Community Healing Initiative par-
ent group. The group offers support and resources
to parents whose children may be involved in the
justice system, as well as parents whose lives have
been impacted by community violence that has
harmed, or even killed, their children. The program
works in partnership with Multnomah County and
the County’s Department of Community Justice.
“I have been struggling with my son ever since
he got into public school,” said Tamika. “The work
and the help that the Community Healing Initiative
is giving us today is work I wish I would have had
when we started out on this journey.”
Since the beginning of the year through August,
preliminary data show that there were more than
800 incidents of gunfire in Portland alone. More
than 260 people have been hurt by gun violence —
a number that does not account for other types of
violence that can wound, seriously injure or kill in
some other way.
Many communities across the country experi-
encing sharp increases in violence are looking for
ways not just to curtail the harm, but also to lift up
struggling community members who have been, or
are most at risk of being, affected.
In Multnomah County, the Board of County
Commissioners allocated funding to bolster pro-
grams like the Community Healing Initiative and
its companion Elevate program to provide support
systems for youth and parents impacted by gangs,
like Tamika and her son.
Annette Majekodunmi, a parent and community
engagement supervisor at POIC + Rosemary An-
derson High School who works side by side with
Tamika and other parents participating in the heal-
ing initiative.
How quickly the community moves on from in-
stances of violence is troubling, said Majekodun-
mi.
Continued on Page 4