The skanner., October 02, 2013, Page 3, Image 3

Local News
Health
NNPA Visit
c o n tin u e d fr o m p a g e 1
A m e ric a n H e a lth C o a litio n , N AYA , th e
C e n te r f o r I n te r c u ltu r a l O rg a n iz in g a n d th e
I m m ig r a n t a n d R e f u g e e C o m m u n ity O rg a n -
iz a tio n a ll h a v e s ta ff tr a in e d to h e lp y o u .
C a ll 1 - 8 5 5 - C o v e r O R to a s k f o r h e lp .
W a s h in g to n S ta te a ls o h a s tr a in e d c o m -
m u n ity p a rtn e rs , s u c h a s N e ig h b o rc a re ,
F rie n d s o f Yo u th a n d th e M u ltic u ltu ra l
H e a lth C e n te r in S e a ttle .
C o n ta c t K in g
C o u n ty P u b lic H e a lth in S e a ttle a t 1 - 8 0 0 -
7 5 6 - 5 4 3 7 , o r C la r k C o u n ty P u b lic H e a lth in
Va n c o u v e r a t 3 6 0 - 3 9 7 - 8 0 0 0 e x t. 7 2 7 8 , to
f in d o u t w h o c a n h e lp y o u .
H o w w ill th e la w a ff e c t y o u ? I t
d e p e n d s o n y o u r in d iv id u a l s itu a -
tio n . C h e c k o u t th is c h e a t s h e e t to
g e t y o u s ta r te d .
How will the law affect you?
It depends on your
individual situation
I am on Medicaid through the
Oregon Health Plan or Washington
Apple Health.
Y o u d o n ’t n e e d to d o a n y th in g .
Y o u a lr e a d y a r e e n r o lle d .
My family is low-income. Can we
get free h e a lth in s u r a n c e ?
T h e r u le s a r e c o m p lic a te d , a n d w h a t y o u
g e t d e p e n d s o n y o u r in d iv id u a l f a m ily c ir -
c u m s ta n c e s . B u t th o u s a n d s o f tra in e d
p e r s o n a l a s s is te r s a r e r e a d y to h e lp y o u
a p p ly. A n d th a t h e lp is f r e e .
C o v e r O r e g o n h a s tr a in e d 2 ,2 0 0 in s u r -
a n c e a g e n t s a n d 1 ,3 0 0 s t a f f a t p a r t n e r
n o n p r o f its . I n P o r tla n d , f o r e x a m p le , th e
U rb a n L e a g u e o f P o rtla n d , th e A fric a n
F o r 2 0 1 4 , th e in c o m e lim it to
r e c e iv e f r e e h e a lth b e n e f its th r o u g h
M e d ic a id /O H P is 1 3 8 p e r c e n t o f th e f e d e r a l
p o v e r ty le v e l.
N u m b e r in F a m ily
A n n u a l In c o m e
1
$ 1 5 ,8 0 0
2
$ 2 1 ,4 0 8
3
$ 2 6 ,9 5 1
4
$ 3 2 ,4 9 9
PHOTO BY
c itiz e n s , w ith s e v e r a l o th e r s u n c o m m itte d .
A n d 2 7 s ta te s le f t it u p to th e f e d e r a l g o v -
e r n m e n t to c r e a te th e ir h e a lth in s u r a n c e
m a r k e tp la c e .
O r e g o n a n d W a s h in g to n , h o w e v e r, h a v e
b o th e x p a n d e d th e n u m b e r o f p e o p le e lig i-
b le fo r fre e h e a lth c a re th ro u g h th e ir
M e d ic a id p ro g ra m s : th e O re g o n H e a lth
P la n a n d A p p le H e a lth . A n d b o th s ta te s
h a v e c r e a te d h e a lth e x c h a n g e s , w h e r e y o u
c a n c o m p a r e p la n s a n d f in d o u t if y o u c a n
g e t h e lp to p a y.
A group of NNPA publishers met with Mayor Hales, Friday, during their site
visit to Portland:(from left) Karen Carter, publisher of the Houston Forward
Times; Terry Jones, publisher of the New Orleans Data Weekly; Portland
Mayor Charlie Hales; Bernie Foster, publisher of The Skanner News; Lenore
Alexander, publisher of the Denver Weekly News; Jackie Willis, event
manager for the NNPA; Baruti Artharee, policy advisor to the mayor.
Next June around 500 Black Publishers will arrive in Portland for the
biggest event on their annual calendars: the 2014 NNPA National
Convention. It will be the first time that the convention has come to
Portland. The National Newspaper Publishers Association represents more
than 200 African American newspapers and websites across the United
States.
See C A R E on page 10
Students
c o n tin u e d fr o m p a g e 2
PORTLAND PUBLIC
SCHOOLS RECONNECTION
PROGRAM
Motto: “We want you back. We are here
to help. Please call.”
Contact: Contact Cheryl James or Jere-
my Kingsbury at 503-916-3956 or email
reconnect@pps.net
Who should call? Anyone under 21 who
dropped out of school before getting a
diploma.
Why Reconnect? A high school diplo-
ma is essential to moving forward on a
career path. US census figures show
that college graduates earn around
three times as much as people without
high school diplomas.
On offer: Extended hours, evening
classes, flexible schedules, year-round
enrollment, childcare for parenting
teens, skills and career training pro-
grams. Call today to get the help you
need to finish high school.
th e b ig g e s t m is ta k e s o f m y lif e .”
S h e p la n n e d to f in is h h e r d ip lo m a a t n ig h t
s c h o o l. B u t s h e a ls o h a d a n o th e r h u r d le to
le a p .
K e r v e n c ia h a d c o m e f r o m H a iti to th e
U n ite d S ta te s w ith h e r f a th e r w h e n
s h e w a s s ix y e a r s o ld . B u t a t a g e 1 7 ,
s h e d is c o v e r e d th a t a lth o u g h s h e ’s
s p e n t m o s t o f h e r lif e h e r e , s h e is n o t
a U .S . c itiz e n .
I t w a s a s h o c k to le a r n th a t if s h e
w a n te d to liv e , s tu d y a n d w o r k in th e
U n ite d S ta te s , s h e w o u ld n e e d a
g r e e n c a r d . A n d to p a y f o r it s h e
w o u ld n e e d to s a v e $ 2 ,0 0 0 a n d a p p ly b e f o r e
s h e r e a c h e d th e a g e o f 2 1 .
S o w ith o n ly tw o c r e d its to g o , K e r v e n c ia
d e c id e d to f o c u s o n w o r k in g a n d s a v in g
in s te a d o f s c h o o l.
L u c k ily, s h e s a y s , P P S R e c o n n e c tio n o u t-
r e a c h s p e c ia lis t C h e r y l J a m e s h e a r d h e r
s to r y a n d to ld h e r, “ Y o u o n ly n e e d tw o
c la s s e s f o r y o u r d ip lo m a ? G ir l y o u h a v e to
d o th is .”
J a m e s a n d J e r e m y K in g s b u r y a r e e x p e r ts
a t f in d in g th e p r o g r a m s th a t w ill w o r k b e s t
f o r e a c h s tu d e n t – e v e n th o s e w h o n e e d
m a n y m o r e c r e d its . L a s t y e a r th e y r e a c h e d
o u t to 1 ,2 7 5 s tu d e n ts , to te ll th e m a b o u t th e
I n a d d itio n to p e r f o r m in g , S h a n n o n a ls o
to o k a n in te r e s t in c h o r e o g r a p h y a t a y o u n g
a g e . S h e w o u ld c r e a te h e r o w n r o u tin e s
w h ile p r a c tic in g th e o n e s a s s ig n e d
b y h e r te a c h e r.
Shannon
w as
in s p ire d
by
M ic h a e l a n d J a n e t J a c k s o n , a s w e ll
a s le g e n d a r y c h o r e o g r a p h e r s B ill
T . J o n e s a n d A lv in A ile y.
“ T h e y ’ v e r e a lly in s p ir e d m e a s
a n o n g r o w in g c h o r e o g r a p h e r,” s h e
s a y s . “ I ’ m a lw a y s le a r n in g .
“ I d o n ’t c h o re o g ra p h ju s t to c h o re o -
g r a p h .”
S h e b r in g s h e r e m o tio n s to h e r w o r k a n d
d e p ic ts w h a t s h e s e e s . H e r w o r k e x p lo r e s
th e m e s lik e w a r, lo v e a n d p o v e r ty. T h e g o a l
is to h e lp h e a l s o m e o f th e c o m m u n ity ’s
is s u e s b y illu s tr a tin g th e m th r o u g h th e le n s
of dance.
p .m ., th e p r o g r a m g r a d u a te d 3 3 s tu d e n ts
th is y e a r, a n d 1 7 a r e a lr e a d y in c o lle g e . A n d
w ith f in a n c ia l h e lp f r o m tw o te a c h e r s a s
w e ll a s h e r o w n e a r n in g s , s h e w a s a b le to
s a v e e n o u g h to a p p ly f o r h e r g r e e n c a r d ,
w h ic h s h o u ld a r r iv e in th e m a il a n y
d a y n o w . S h e c r e d its th e r e c o n n e c -
tio n s ta ff a n d th e A llia n c e te a c h e r s
f o r p u ttin g h e r b a c k o n tr a c k to s u c -
ceed.
“ T h e y a r e a w e s o m e ,” s h e s a y s .
“ A n d A llia n c e h e lp e d m e a lo t. A t a
r e g u la r s c h o o l it w o u ld n e v e r h a v e
w o r k e d f o r m e b e c a u s e I h a d to
w o r k a n d p r o v id e f o r m y s e lf .”
N o w w o r k in g a s a c o o k in a s e n io r c a r e
h o m e , K e r v e n c ia p la n s to g o to c o m m u n ity
c o lle g e a n d p u r s u e h e r d r e a m o f s tu d y in g
c r im in a l ju s tic e a n d w o r k in g w ith y o u th in
th e ju s tic e s y s te m .
She planned to finish her
diploma at night school. But she
also had another hurdle to leap
n e w o p tio n s th a t c a n m a k e it e a s ie r to f in is h
s c h o o l. F le x ib le h o u r s a n d c h ild c a r e a r e
a v a ila b le f o r s tu d e n ts w h o w o r k a n d f o r
p r e g n a n t a n d p a r e n tin g s tu d e n ts . T h e e ff o r t
is p a r t o f a m a jo r p u s h b y P o r tla n d P u b lic
S c h o o ls to in c r e a s e th e n u m b e r s o f s tu d e n ts
w h o g e t th a t p r e c io u s d ip lo m a .
K e r v e n c ia c o m p le te d h e r c la s s e s th r o u g h
th e A llia n c e p ro g ra m a t B e n s o n H ig h
S c h o o l. N o w o p e n f r o m 8 :3 0 a .m . to 7 :3 0
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Dance
c o n tin u e d fr o m p a g e 3
le a r n in g to d e a l w ith a lo p e c ia . I n s te a d o f
le ttin g th e c o n d itio n g e t h e r d o w n , s h e
tu r n e d it in to a p o in t o f s tr e n g th . S o m e p e o -
p le w h o s e e h e r b o ld , h ig h e n e rg y
p e r f o r m a n c e s a s s u m e h e r b a ld h e a d is a
f a s h io n c h o ic e .
“ I t’s f u n n y b e c a u s e in L .A . th e y lo o k f o r
c h a r a c te r s ,” s h e s a y s . “ I f e lt lik e if I h a d
w ig s o n a n d h a d th e B e y o n c é lo o k , th e y
w o u ld n ’t h a v e c h o s e n m e . T h e y c h o s e m e
b e c a u s e I w a s d iff e r e n t.”
S h a n n o n k n e w d a n c in g w a s h e r c a llin g in
m id d le s c h o o l. E v e n th e n , s h e p ic tu r e d h e r -
s e lf o n p r o m in e n t s ta g e s lik e th e E m m y s
a n d O sc a rs.
“ I w a s d r a w n b y th e e x c ite m e n t o f d a n c e
a n d it b e c a m e m y p a s s io n ,” s h e s a y s .
o n h e r c o m p a n y.
I n itia lly, s h e s tr u g g le d w ith th e la c k o f
in te r e s t.
F a m ily a n d lo c a l c o m m u n ity
m e m b e r s h e lp e d g e t h e r th r o u g h .
S h a n n o n c ite s h e r p a r e n ts , te a c h -
e rs , To d d S tric k la n d a n d h e r
d a u g h te r fo r c o n s ta n t s u p p o rt
th r o u g h o u t th e jo u r n e y. S h e g iv e s
s p e c ia l th a n k s to B o b b y a n d L iz
F o u th e r, w h o h e lp e d h e r p u s h o n
d e s p ite s e tb a c k s in d e v e lo p in g h e r
d a n c e c e n te r.
I was drawn by the excitement of
dance and it became my
passion
S h e h o p e s th e c o m m u n ity w ill s u p p o r t th e
d a n c e c e n te r m o r e .
W h e n S h a n n o n f ir s t o p e n e d its d o o r s , th e
n e ig h b o r h o o d d id n ’t s e e m in te r e s te d . E v e n -
tu a lly, s h e h a d to c lo s e th e d o o r s a n d f o c u s
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O c to b e r 2 , 2 0 1 3
The Portland Skanner
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