December 13, 2017 The Skanner Seattle Page 3
News
cont’d from pg 1
“
done from the mayor’s
seat, whose current oc-
cupier Raiford is partic-
ularly frustrated with.
“(Mayor) Ted (Wheel-
er) has let me and others
down in such a tremen-
dous way,” said Raiford,
pointing to what she sees
as a failure to address
police
accountability
and public safety. “It’s
time for change in Port-
It’s time for change in Port-
land that comes from the
un-vetted will of the people
taken a vocally critical
stance against City Hall.
Last summer, she filed a
$500,000 lawsuit against
the City of Portland for
her 2015 arrest during
a Black Lives Matter
demonstration.
“Since my nephew’s
land that comes from the
un-vetted will of the peo-
ple.”
If her plans for run-
ning sound preemptive,
there’s a reason, said Rai-
ford. “I announced early
because Ted has made
comments recently that
Family Recovering From House Fire
Community members are raising funds so a Northeast Portland family can recuperate after a fire forced them from their home on the
100 block of NE Lombard Dec. 9. Derrall and Chevon Davis and their children are currently staying in a Troutdale hotel room. Local
activists with Don’t Shoot Portland collected clothing, food, cat food and hygiene items at a Dec. 12 event at Artist Repertory Theatre.
Funds are also being accepted through a GoFundMe at www.gofundme.com/4u2apc8.
Homeless
Teressa Raiford, seen here at a 2016 protect, has announced she’s
running for Mayor in 2020.
death I’ve tried to work
with countless leaders
in our community that
are responsible for pub-
lic safety, education,
housing and jobs to end
trends of poverty and
mass
incarceration,”
Raiford told The Skan-
ner. “It’s been disgusting
to see how quick people
who speak about equity
shut out the voices of the
most marginalized mem-
bers of our community.”
Raiford added that
while she’s happy to
serve her community
as an organizer, she be-
lieves she can get more
Portland needs a two-
term mayor and I agree
with him.”
According to Raiford,
she’ll be announcing a
platform based on a two-
term goal and intends to
form strategic partner-
ships with political allies
she’ll be working to get
elected in May 2018, in-
cluding Felicia Williams
for city council and Don’t
Shoot PDX president
Maria Garcia for Mult-
nomah County commis-
sioner.
Raiford said she is sup-
porting both women in
their campaigns.
Symonette
cont’d from pg 1
treated mental illness and other
problems on its streets.
For starters, the city put togeth-
er a team that would track the 25
most costly and vulnerable cases,
and hover over each one individ-
ually until he or she was in treat-
ment or housing.
“It was when everything else
seems to have failed,” said Hil Ka-
man, who left his job prosecuting
the homeless about a year-and-a-
half ago and took up the challenge
of finding solutions as the city’s
public health and safety director.
Officials also are pushing new
permanent supportive housing
and sending social workers out
with police officers.
The city of 110,000 people north
of Seattle and surrounding Sno-
homish County saw a 65 percent
jump in people living outside in
the past two years — among the
largest increases on the West
Coast in that time.
The number of unsheltered
chronically homeless — those
who have been homeless for lon-
ger than a year while struggling
with a serious mental illness, sub-
stance use disorder or physical
disability — has grown steadily
in the Everett region, more than
doubling since 2015.
“
lems,” said Steve Berg, vice pres-
ident for programs and policy
with the National Alliance to End
Homelessness.
In 2011, roughly one in every
five opioid-related deaths in
These are expensive places to live. It’s
expensive for everybody. But the bur-
den falls the hardest on people with the
biggest problems
The opioid epidemic, poverty,
lack of unskilled jobs, rising rents
and a shortage of affordable hous-
ing have made it harder for those
who fall into homelessness to get
out.
The problem is not limited to
Everett. Up and down the West
Coast, the high cost of housing
has forced thousands of people
to live on the streets, a trend that
opioids have exacerbated.
“These are expensive places to
live. It’s expensive for everybody.
But the burden falls the hardest
on people with the biggest prob-
Washington state took place in
the city and surrounding Sno-
homish County. That was the
peak, but heroin deaths remain
high and deaths from synthet-
ic opioids such as fentanyl are
climbing.
The crisis had become so dire
that Everett city officials became
among the first to sue the man-
ufacturer of the painkiller Oxy-
Contin in January. The lawsuit
blames Purdue Pharma for an
addiction crisis that has over-
whelmed city resources and deep-
ened its homelessness problem.
cont’d from pg 1
healthcare in America concern you on
the future of Planned Parenthood Co-
lumbia Willamette?
SS: I think health care is always
changing and we’re in a time where
health care is changing rapidly. I feel
that in the Columbia Willamette area
we are in a very lucky spot with a lot of
support from our community. But the
threat of defunding is something we
don’t take lightly.
Our slogan is “Care No Matter What”
and I think that is really true, wheth-
er you have commercial insurance or
no insurance. So now, more than ever,
it’s important that we keep our doors
open. Depending on what happens on
the federal level, our services are going
to probably be needed more than ever.
TSN: How does Planned Parenthood
Columbia Willamette work to address
disparities in racial and ethnically di-
verse communities?
SS: I think we are doing a better job,
but there’s definitely still work for us
to do to have stronger relationships
with communities of color. One of the
areas I work with, in particular, is eq-
“
We have gone from
having three board
members being
people of color, to
almost half our
board
uity and inclusion. We have gone from
having three board members (out of
19) being people of color, to almost half
our board. They represent the Native
American, Latino, Black, Asian and
LGBTQ communities. So that was the
part I thought was important – mak-
ing sure that more of the communities
we serve have a voice on the board and
have access to those services.
Since I’ve been on the board I created
and hired for the position of Director
of Equity and Inclusion, which Sirius
Bonner currently holds.
TSN: During your tenure on the
board, Planned Parenthood Colum-
bia Willamette has made strides in
increasing equity and inclusion, as
you mentioned, as well as providing
transgender hormone provision at se-
lect health centers. What do you see
as your major focus areas in your new
role moving forward?
SS: As board chair, the focus area is
the whole organization, and that’s a
lot of moving parts. One of the areas
that we’re really excited about is tele-
medicine, which we just launched. So
we’re going to be able to better meet the
needs of people in rural and coastal ar-
eas that we haven’t been able to access
in the past. That’s also part of our equi-
ty and inclusive work, making sure we
can bring services to those areas.
As well, continuing to make sure
PHOTO COURTESY OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD
COLUMBIA WILLAMETTE
2010, Raiford’s nephew
was shot outside an Old
Town nightclub. With
a surge of gang-relat-
ed gun violence in the
years that followed, she
launched the social jus-
tice organization Don’t
Shoot PDX in 2014.
She has been active
at numerous protests
and public forums in
recent years, and has
PHOTO COURTESY OF GOFUNDME
Raiford
Sita Symonette, board chair of Planned Parenthood
Columbia Willamette.
that equity, inclusion and diversity are
integrated into who we are – and not
just something that we do. I think the
team at PPCW is really working hard to
make sure that that happens. Also, pro-
viding transgender care at our health
centers in Northeast Portland and Sa-
lem is amazing and it shows again that
we’re walking the walk of inclusion to
reach the people we need to care for.