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local news Grant Campaign launched continued from page 1 hol and other drugs and the availability of weapons,” she says. “But there’s are also a number of other factors that can be protective against vio- lence even in the presence of risk factors, and those are things like: young people having caring adults in their lives, high expectations, that there are economic opportunities for youth and adults within neighborhoods, strong social networks and meaningful opportunities for young peo- ple.” Multnomah County is one of four public health departments in line to receive CDC funding through the $4.5 million STRYVE (Striving To Reduce Youth Violence ed, said Tom Towslee, communications director for Sen. Ron Wyden. “It’s a long process and we will be doing everything we can to make sure that funding is continued.” The budget has not yet been voted on by the full Senate. And the U.S. House of Representatives also has an opportunity to restore the funds. So the decision still could be reversed, if legislators hear dissent from their districts. Oregon Sens. Wyden and Merkeley say they will work to restore funding for youth violence prevention in the Senate, and advocates are asking citizens to contact their Washington DC delegations and keep the issue on the front burner. Multnomah County was cho- sen for the STRYVE grant because statistics show North and Northeast Portland qualifies as a high- risk community. Just 12 percent of Portland’s young people aged 10 to 24 live in North and Northeast, but they account for 18 per- cent of youth homicides. African American and Latino youth are at higher risk. Young Black men, for example, have a homicide rate seven times higher than other youth. “For many years, many, many people in this community have wanted funding to cre- ate a comprehensive prevention plan,” Wiggins says. “What has tended to be fund- ed are intervention and suppression initia- tives. “ We wanted to stop youth violence before it starts.” Spread over five years, the $1.125 million grant was slated to hire two project coordi- nators who would support a coalition of Oregon Sens. Wyden and Merkeley say they will work to restore funding for youth violence prevention in the Senate Everywhere) program. The other three pro- grams funded this year are in Boston, Houston and Salinas, Calif. “What this does is it takes all the youth violence prevention funding out of the CDC and says that the Department of Justice is solely responsible for youth violence,” Davis said. “So that’s waiting for our Justice system to help keep our kids safe. What that means on the ground is that the planning dollars to plan and implement effective prevention approaches won’t be there. “ The decision doesn’t affect this year’s funding, which already has been appropriat- Teressa Raiford launched her campaign for Portland City Commissioner, Friday Sept. 23, with a party, which was also her birthday party at “No limits Stickers on N.E. 17th Avenue and Alberta Street. She is running for Position 1 as a challenger to Commissioner Amanda Fritz. Helen Silvis photo government agencies and community groups. The county’s Local Public Safety Coordinating Council already has a sub- committee working to prevent gangs and youth violence. That group includes advo- cates such as Marcus Mundy of The Urban League, Kayse Jama from the Center for Intercultural Organizing, and Grant High School student Roneesha Kennedy as well as representatives from law enforcement, Portland State University, and city, state and county government. Wiggins said the list doesn’t yet include everyone who needs to be there, including more people involved in grassroots organiz- ing. In recent months, Portland has seen several grassroots youth violence preven- tion efforts spring up. The 11:45 initiative, sponsored by several local churches, for example has signed up more than 200 vol- unteers. Mayor Sam Adams recently select- ed 11:45 group to receive the Spirit of Portland Award. rals; — Black Studies, a college preparation class offered in partnership with PSU. Hundreds of students have passed through REAP’s leadership programs, and thousands more have participated in talks, forums and events led by REAP’s student leaders. “We have found that the solution is young people – they’re not the prob- --Mark Jackson, REAP lem, they’re the solution,” Jackson says. “So this 10th year anniversary celebration is going to showcase what we’ve done to bring students to the creation of a “success plan” focused on aca- table – not as mentees, but as decision mak- demic achievement and school safety. Reap ers.” “What you need is in the seed – so no tree says 75 percent of the students in Reflections do not go on to repeated refer- ever went to Home Depot and bought leaves and fruit,” says Sunshine Dixon. “Everything was in the seed, but what is in the earth around that seed can limit what’s produced by it. If the wrong things are in the soil then you don’t see the potential and the fruit is weakened. “We can strengthen our community, we can strengthen our tax base, we could lower the need for social services or eliminate some by fertilizing the seed,” Dixon says. “We need to be different in our thinking,” Jackson said. “Oregon students are less edu- cated than their parents, Oregon students have a lower achievement level. Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com REAP continued from page 1 Jackson says. One of the premiere youth empowerment organizations in the metro area, REAP’s programs include: — The annual Challenge Conference and Challenge Camp, with activities, motivational speakers (including the kids themselves) and community lead- ers. — Solutions leadership diversity program, in which kids are assigned individual mentors from local institu- tions such as Portland State University, Nike, Intel, local government agencies and companies; their parents are strongly networked into the program through Parents 4 Success. — The Reflections drop-out prevention program, which puts students on in-school suspension into a structured support net- work providing tutoring, classwork, and ‘We need to be different in our thinking’ Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com Hope continued from page 1 boots and a saw horse hand-built by the worker (required equipment for many trades); a portfolio of job experience includ- ing construction work on an array of volun- teer projects that partner with Constructing Hope; and relationships with members of The heart of the program is a nine- week construction pre-apprenticeship training the trade unions or companies that do the hiring – and the training – including Laborers Local 296, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and the Oregon and Southern Idaho Laborers. The benchmark certifications alone are daunting: tests on introduction to blueprint read- ing; math basics; tool identification; and hands-on training are just a start. Daniels says the biggest component of the program is life skills. “If you’re late, you’re out,” Daniels says. “If you come unprepared, you’re out. If you skip class, you’re out. Hoffman Construction and other companies come in and interview the appli- cants for the training program, so that we have industry helping select the people that we invest this train- ing in,” Daniels says. “That way everybody’s on the same page – the students, and the people who are doing the hiring at the end.” Since last year, Daniels says, they’ve added more math components to their training to help students do better. ‘If you’re late, you’re out. If you come unprepared, you’re out. If you skip class, you’re out “On the other hand, if you come prepared and put out your best effort, we will help you meet the job qualifications and get you employed,” she says. “Once thing we’ve done differently since last year is we have individuals from Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com September 28, 2011 The Portland Skanner page 3
