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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 2011)
local news Prison Holiday gifts continued from page 1 daughter, or a family member or friend who went to Coffee Creek to learn more about what that experience was like. “We’re right now in the research phase of this work and one of the things we want to do is hear from our members and others about what their experiences are at Coffee Creek,” White said. She invites calls to her office at 503-335- 8449 ext. 210, or emails to Shannon@safetyandjustice.org . Some key facts about youth in adult prisons: Youth who are held in adult facilities are at an increased risk of physical and sexual victimiza- tion. The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission found that “more than any other group of incarcerated persons, youth incarcerated with adults are prob- ably at the highest risk for sexual abuse.” Many children are often placed in isolation for 23 hours a day. White These conditions can cause anxi- ety, paranoia, and exacerbate existing mental disorders. Youth are 36 times more likely to commit suicide in an adult prison or jail than a juve- nile detention facility. The consequences of juveniles in adult prisons are very serious and that’s why we at Partnership for Safety and Justice are working to address that issue —Shannon people who have either themselves been through Coffee Creek as a 16 or 17 year old, or maybe it was a family member a son or a Shamika Bishop checks out necklaces at the African American Holiday Marketplace at Talking Drum Café and Books, (also known as Reflections) 446 N.E. Killingsworth Street. Owner gloria McMurtry is inviting vendors to set up kiosks in her store during the holiday period. S. Renee Mitchell took the opportunity to showcase her African-inspired art and jewelry, which is pictured here with a interested shopper. Jobs continued from page 1 the same period, Black unemployment increased from 15.4 to 16.3 percent. Oregon and the Portland Metro Region’s most recent figures from 2009 show that white unemployment is at 11 percent while Black unemployment is 18 percent. Statistics show the impact of joblessness is most visible for youth and children. In fact, US Census Bureau figures say that one in two Black children in Oregon live in poverty. “Black people are two percent of Oregon’s population but make up seven per- cent of those on child welfare,” says Purcell. 2010 US Department of Labor statistics show that unemployment amongst Black youth is at 33.4 percent, which is twice as high as white youth unemployment and over 11 percent higher than the next highest group, Latino youth. “When the economy is bad for everyone it takes attention away from our community,” says Purcell. “(Black) unemployment has been at 15 percent or more since 1970.” She says a number of factors, such as housing stability, gentrification and policy decisions cause long term unemployment. pHoTo bY Helen SIlvIS times longer,” said White. “Kids are usually kept in isolation for 23 hours a day, and which for the time when they are not kept in their cell — which can be a horrifying experience in and of itself — they’re out and exposed to the adult prison population, which is just not a safe place for kids to be,” she said. White says the Partnership is looking for community testimony about the conditions for juveniles at Coffee Creek, whether directly from the youth, from the parents or other family members. “So we’re gathering stories now from Purcell also says there has been a general disinvestment in the Black community. She says the city can do a better job of focusing where it invests its money. According to her and the Urban League, the initiatives of attracting more companies to Oregon and hiring a local and diverse work- force don’t have to be mutually exclusive. The Urban League has worked with the National Association of Minority “These companies should reach into com- munities that are more than prepared to meet the needs of an emerging job market,” she says. The National Urban League has a 12 Point Jobs Plan that includes funding to restore the Summer Youth Jobs Program as a stand-alone that will employ five million teens. The plan also calls for a national pub- lic private jobs initiative to create jobs and train urban resi- dents in such fields as tech- nology and broadband, health care, manufacturing, urban transportation/water and community facilities infrastructure, and clean energy. Purcell says the American Jobs Act, President Obama’s jobs bill, which has been stifled in Congress, contains a number of Oregon and the Portland Metro Region’s most recent figures from 2009 show that white unemployment is at 11 percent while Black unemployment is 18 percent Contractors of Oregon (NAMCO) to advo- cate for fairer access to contracting and pub- lic procurement. Purcell says this has made the Urban League a partner in making local companies more socially responsible. important elements that coincide with the National Urban League’s goals. The American Jobs Act includes a $50 bil- lion immediate investment in infrastructure, an expansion of unemployment insurance and specific job training to help the long term unemployed, a $5 billion investment in youth and young adult employment and a tax cut for American workers. In addition to these measures, the act also contains specific language to prevent dis- crimination against the unemployed in the hiring process. Purcell says the Urban League is working to make the community aware of the impor- tance of these policies and how they can be implemented at the state and city level. She says it’s also important to make poli- cymakers aware of the impact of long term unemployment on the Black community. “We want to make sure Black unemploy- ment doesn’t fall off the radar,” says Purcell. “When the Oregon unemployment rate is 9.5 percent for the general population and 18 percent in our community, it calls for a targeted approach.” Just One in Four with HIV Have Infection Under Control mike Stobbe ap medical Writer Only about 1 in 4 Americans with the AIDS virus have the infection under con- trol with medications, federal health offi- cials said Tuesday. Part of the reason is that about 20 per- cent of those infected with HIV don’t know it. People can have an infection for years without developing symptoms. CDC also announced Tuesday a $2.4 million campaign to encourage HIV test- ing. It’s the government’s first campaign aimed specifically at black gay and bisex- ual men, who account for nearly a quarter of all new HIV infections in the country. An infection was once a death sentence, but medications that have been available for 15 years can turn it into a manageable condition, allowing those infected to live longer and healthier lives. However, in its first study of the issue, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found only a small fraction of people are being successfully treated. “The big picture is we could do a lot better than we’re doing today,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, the CDC’s director. Of the nearly 1.2 million people with HIV, only about 40 percent are getting HIV-fighting medications regularly. Worse, only 28 percent have gotten the virus to low levels in their blood. That translates to roughly 850,000 Americans who don’t have the virus con- trolled, Frieden said. Success rates were lowest in blacks and women, the CDC found. There are various reasons why more people aren’t doing better, health officials said. Some were still early in their treat- ment, when the virus hadn’t been beaten down to low levels yet. Some dropped routine care because of money or other obstacles. Some didn’t stick with it for other, more personal reasons. And, in a small percentage of cases, the medicine may not have worked. The HIV virus can cause AIDS, an ill- ness that destroys the body’s immune sys- tem and causes about 16,000 deaths annu- ally. In the , the number of new infections each year has held steady in recent years, at about 50,000. The good news is that once HIV-infect- ed people get plugged into medical care, the drugs bring the virus under control nearly 80 percent of the time, health offi- cials said. november 30, 2011 The Portland Skanner page 3
