March 6, 2019 The Skanner Portland & Seattle Page 3
News
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sidered as having adopt-
ed “sanctuary policies”
saying those policies may
violate federal law.
Of those 29 jurisdic-
tions — which include
cities as large as Los
Angeles and as small as
Burlington, Vermont —
only Oregon has yet to
be cleared to receive the
grants from 2017, a Jus-
tice Department spokes-
gation is now focused on
making the order affect-
ing the 2017 grants per-
manent and apply to 2018
grants, as well, said Kate
O’Brien, a Chicago attor-
ney who represented the
mayors.
Other federal courts
have ruled against the
Justice
Department.
Similar cases are being
litigated across the coun-
man told The Associated
Press this week.
Vermont officials an-
nounced Monday that
they had been told the
state Department of Pub-
lic Safety would be getting
$2.3 million in law en-
forcement grants that had
been blocked. Vermont
had not joined any of the
legal cases, instead corre-
sponding directly with the
Justice Department.
U.S. Sen. Patrick Lea-
hy, a Vermont Democrat,
declared victory, saying
the money would be used
primarily on anti-drug
efforts.
“State and local law
enforcement
agencies
already are stretched
thin, and withholding
these federal grants only
makes their work more
difficult,” Leahy said in
an email to the AP. “It’s
unthinkable that the
Trump Justice Depart-
ment would hold these
funds hostage over an
unrelated dispute on im-
migration policy.”
Last summer, the U.S.
Conference of Mayors
sued in Illinois on be-
half of its member cities
focusing on the issue.
In September, a feder-
al court temporarily
blocked the Justice De-
partment from withhold-
ing the funds for the ju-
risdictions represented
by the conference.
The conference’s liti-
Women
try, and the Justice De-
partment is considering
appealing some unfavor-
able rulings.
The Trump adminis-
tration has long argued
that places that don’t
cooperate with federal
immigration authorities,
often called “sanctuary
cities,” pose a threat to
public safety.
“I continue to urge all
jurisdictions under re-
view to reconsider poli-
cies that place the safety
of their communities and
their residents at risk,”
Sessions said in a state-
ment in January 2018.
“Protecting
criminal
aliens from federal immi-
gration authorities defies
common sense and un-
dermines the rule of law.”
The details differ by
jurisdiction, but the
Justice Department felt
law enforcement agen-
cies in those communi-
ties weren’t sufficiently
committing themselves
to cooperating with fed-
eral immigration agents
when officers came in
contact with people who
might not be in the coun-
try legally.
Aside from confirming
the clearance of grants to
the 28 jurisdictions, Jus-
tice Department spokes-
man Steven Stafford de-
clined to comment.
Read more at
TheSkanner.com
Self Enhancement Inc. hosted a women’s luncheon
with the theme “We Are Overcomers” Feb. 28. The
luncheon, dedicated to the restoration of women
who have been harmed by human trafficking,
mental illness, sexual trauma, drug addiction, HIV/
AIDS, homelessness, teen pregnancy, domestic
violence, cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
It featured presentations and performances from
Victoria Schoeffermann, Justice Adrienne Nelson,
Javelin Hardy, Libra Forde, Carla Davis, Linda Hudson
and Demetrius and Sarah Herring. Among those
honored was Telia Anderson (pictured here).
Cannabis
cont’d from pg 1
portunity and education to com-
munities disproportionately im-
pacted by cannabis prohibition.”
In January, the resulting Canna-
bis Business Development Equity
Program awarded $30,000 indi-
vidual grants to both subscrip-
tion box provider Green Box and
Green Hop, a brick-and-mortar
dispensary with a social justice
mission.
“The voters said they cared
about the economic harm done to
the communities through (mar-
ijuana) arrests and the war on
drugs, and want to give back,”
said Jeannette Ward Horton,
project manager at the NuLeaf
Project, a nonprofit chosen as the
program’s provider.
In addition to the funding, each
business will receive at least four
months of business advice and
guidance through NuLeaf.
While exact statistics for can-
nabis business ownership in the
state of Oregon are not available,
Ward Horton argued numbers
from Colorado provide a work-
able comparison: Only 1 percent
of cannabis businesses are owned
by African Americans, the racial
demographic most arrested on
marijuana charges. In total, 15
percent of cannabis businesses
are owned by people of color.
The Cannabis Business Devel-
opment Equity Program is admin-
istered by Prosper Portland, the
city’s development commission.
“We have a $3 million program
called the Inclusive Business Net-
work, where we fund 16 organiza-
tions that serve entrepreneurs of
color and women,” project man-
ager Katherine Krajnak said. “We
“
These are
strong busi-
nesses ready to
explode, ready
to scale with the
right capital
served 735 businesses last year:
70 percent (were owned by) peo-
ple of color, and 60 percent were
women-owned.”
Ward Horton explained how
Green Box and Green Hop were
chosen out of the more than doz-
en applicants.
“These are strong businesses
ready to explode, ready to scale
with the right capital. They’re
just missing the capital to scale,”
she said. “The subscription mod-
el economy is exploding outside
of cannabis, and there aren’t a lot
of delivery licenses in Oregon.
So you corner the market. Green
Hop is a retailer, but what makes
them special is they’re creating
this cannabis hip hop experience,
having these events and culture
activities. They’re really trying
to push what is retail and what it
means to serve a community.”
Green Box owner Adrian Way-
man says his business, now in
its second year, caters to “people
that tend to be overwhelmed by
shopping in a typical dispensary
environment, or absolutely don’t
want to be seen by others,” as well
as customers who want more
consistency in product -- the de-
crease in overhead costs means
Wayman can better keep up with
inventory.
The new funding source will
enable Wayman to expand his
previously one-man operation.
He confirmed to The Skanner that
since receiving the $30,000 grant,
he has been holding interviews
with potential drivers, fulfill-
ment team members, and creative
and marketing staff.
“I think I deserve (the grant) for
the simple fact I have been affect-
ed due to harsh laws,” Wayman
said. He was arrested for posses-
sion 19 years ago in DeKalb Coun-
ty, Georgia, while waiting for his
bus. He says he was approached
by a number of police officers
with guns drawn, and that they
discovered a small amount of
marijuana on him. He spent the
next 18 months on probation, and
saw an adverse impact on his job
prospects after.
Read more at TheSkanner.com
cont’d from pg 1
space as well as self-care practice.
Now Olive is raising funds for a tran-
sitional housing space for women com-
ing out of the criminal justice system,
and has begun talking to developers
about getting a property for clean and
sober housing for women re-entering
society after prison.
She’s also working to get incarcer-
ated women added to waiting lists for
affordable housing six months before
their release date, so they’re more like-
ly to find housing immediately upon
release.
Too often, Olive said, women leaving
prison don’t have stable housing lined
up, and have to rely on their family
and friend networks for places to stay.
In some cases they can end up staying
with friends still involved in criminal
activity, can end up in settings that trig-
ger their addictions or end up return-
ing to criminal activities like sex work
or selling drugs in order to survive.
And finding housing is more difficult
“
I just know when a
person has a place
to live, it’s easier
for people with criminal backgrounds.
“I just know when a person has a
place to live, it’s easier,” Olive said.
Most of the women currently accessing
services at WomenFirst are looking for
housing, she said.
Olive told The Skanner she was drawn
to the work because of her own lived
experience. She was seven years old
when her father died; not long after, she
said, her mother began using drugs. Ol-
ive went into foster care and ran away
when she was 15;
at 16, her son was
born and was lat-
er adopted by an-
other family who
changed his name.
(The two reunited
recently after he
sought her out.)
Olive herself be-
gan using drugs,
but the birth of her
second child when
she was 19 inspired
her to turn her life
around. And on Portland nonprofit WomenFirst is raising funds to create transitional housing
reflection, she re-
for women leaving the criminal justice system.
alized a common
thread in all the
er people.
work she did — beginning with volun-
“That has always been my desire,” Ol-
teering at church services when she ive said. This is my purpose in life – to
was a child — was the desire to help oth- help others.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF WOMENFIRST
“
It’s unthinkable that the
Trump Justice Department
would hold these funds
hostage
‘We Are
Overcomers’
PHOTO BY BERNIE FOSTER
Sanctuary