www . THESKANNER . COM
J ANuARY 11, 2012
P ORTLAND , O REGON
V OLuME XXXIV, N O . 2
25
CENTS
INSIDE:
Martin Luther
King Special
Edition
C hallenging P eoPle to S haPe a B etter F uture n ow
Anti-
Gang
Project
survivor
Connected grows
from 100 men to 100
women -- for kids
By Lisa Loving
of The Skanner News
PHoTo courTeSY reD croSS norTHweST region
T
he Connected program, which in
2011 sought to bring 100 men out to a
major gang hotspot every Friday
night as a way to build positive relationships
with young people, is branching out.
Now, organizers say, they’re turning their
efforts towards organizing 100 women to
reach out to youth as well – particularly
gang-influenced girls.
The effort comes as a spate of suspected
gang shootings over the weekend saw bul-
lets flying into a home and into a car with
children inside.
The Portland Police report a string of inci-
dents Sunday started with a drive-by just
after 2 p.m. at a residence on Southeast
72nd Avenue where young kids were at
home; about 15 minutes later shots were
fired at a home on Southeast 162 Avenue;
and a third drive-by was reported just before
3 p.m. at Southeast 143rd Avenue.
At 3:06 p.m. shots were fired from one
vehicle into another near the intersection of
North Williams Avenue and Fremont, injur-
ing one of the children inside the car, but not
seriously.
A fifth shooting was reported Monday
night near North Iris Way and Swenson
Street. Police are investigating whether all
the incidents are related; injuries were
reported but none were life-threatening.
Last summer, Connected showed data
indicating reported crimes dropped in the
Lloyd Center area by 24 percent after just a
few months of Friday night walks through
Holladay Park by the group’s volunteers.
The park had been considered a major
hotspot for violence even before 14-year-
old Shiloh Hampton was shot to death there
last April; investigators say he had no ties to
gangs and was an innocent bystander in the
line of fire. According to the Portland
Police, the city had eight gang killings in
2011 and more than 100 gang squad call-
From left, Leonard Lamberth, Diane Lamberth, Tiffany Lamberth, and center front, Latay Hammick. The family will be
at the Red Cross MLK Blood Drive Monday, Jan. 16, to thank donors and remind them of the value of giving blood
and signing up to be an organ donor.
Young Girl, Family Battle Sickle Cell
Education and volunteer efforts coordinated by Red Cross
By nate warren of the
American red cross
Pacific northwest Blood
Services region Special
To The Skanner News
L
atay Hammick is ready
for graduation as she
finishes up the eighth
grade at Vernon School.
She is excited for her fresh-
man year of high school, still
undecided on which school
she’ll attend, but she is ready
for new adventures.
For Latay and her family,
there’s more to be excited
about than a new school year.
It’s also been over a year since
Latay has needed blood trans-
fusions
at
Doernbecher
Children’s Hospital, where she
had her last medical emer-
gency.
When Latay was born, she
was diagnosed with sickle cell
anemia, a disorder that causes
red blood cells to form an
abnormal crescent shape.
Because of this rare shape,
sickle cells are fragile and only
last about ten to twenty days in
the bloodstream, while healthy
cells typically survive for
about 120 days.
This means patients like
Latay are chronically short on
their red blood cell count.
Since these cells play a critical
role of transporting oxygen
throughout the body, they
must be replaced. To help
relieve symptoms of anemia in
sickle cell patients, blood
transfusions are necessary.
When she was two years old,
Latay had open heart surgery.
Many pints of donated blood
were used for a successful
operation. “It took a few
hours, and while the sickle cell
blood was coming out, she had
pints of good blood coming
in,” said Tiffany Lamberth,
who is Latay’s mother. “When
a sickle cell child goes into the
hospital, it’s called a crisis.
Latay usually stays there for
three to five days.”
Leonard Lamberth, Latay’s
grandfather, sits on the board
of the Sickle Cell Foundation
See LATAY on page 3
See connecTeD on page 3
inDeX
News ...................2,3,7
Opinion ..................4,5
Books.........................6
A & E ......................8,9
M.L. King ............11-14
Food........................10
Bids/Classifieds ........15
DHS Tries to Turnaround ‘Foster Crisis’
New effort to keep Black, Native American kids out of state care
By Lisa Loving
of The Skanner News
I
t could well signal a sea-change in
Oregon’s troubled foster care program
for children.
Responding to dismal statistics – and
heartbreaking personal stories of broken
families – the Oregon Department of
Human Services is launching a major initia-
tive to reduce the number of children in fos-
ter care statewide.
Using an advertising campaign and a web-
site of volunteer opportunities, DHS offi-
cials announced in December a “call to
action” they hope will move the state out of
its foster care “crisis.”
“We know we can do better at safely keep-
ing children at home or with a relative,” the
agency’s website says. “We have relied too
much on foster care as our primary option
for protecting children.”
Raise Me Up’s new Facebook page
includes links to media coverage, volunteer
events and training opportunities around
Oregon, all focusing on reducing the num-
ber of kids in foster care.
One recent posting is a commentary
See DHS on page 3