Poverty levels for school districts in Oregon

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released statistics that measured poverty for the nation's school districts. For the state of Oregon, the census figures show that rural areas of the state have the highest levels of poor children. Meanwhile, the Portland metro area and other towns had lower levels of the poor.

From The Oregonian, writer Betsy Hammond breaks down the numbers. Oregon Live also has this file that lists poverty levels for all of Oregon's schools.

Statewide, the lowest rates are in Lake Oswego, Sherwood, Corbett and West Linn-Wilsonville. Six percent or fewer of school-age children in those districts live in households below the poverty level, the bureau reported this month.

On the flip side are Woodburn, nearly every school district in southeast Oregon's Harney County, the Powers school district in southwest Oregon and the Three Rivers school district around Grants Pass. One-quarter to one-third of all school-age children in those areas live below the poverty line, defined as income of $22,050 a year for a family of four.

Schools face a much greater challenge getting students to read and do math at grade level in high-poverty communities. A federal report released last week showed that a student who attends a school serving mainly low-income and working-class students is about 12 times more likely to attend a chronically low-performing school than a student whose school serves mostly moderate- or high-income students.

"Whenever you are dealing with students at risk, you have issues," said Peter Maluk, director of federal programs for the Three Rivers district. "We see more and more needy families, and we need to be sensitive to helping them and giving their kids a solid education."

Maluk's district won competitive federal grants to help serve homeless students and to offer after-school academic and enrichment programs. He said he is proud of the results Three Rivers has achieved teaching low-income students.

When schools do a good job, they can be the best place for children from poor families, said Holly Pruett, executive director of Stand for Children in Oregon.

"For children living in poverty, schools are the essential lifeline to the skills and the inspiration to be able to succeed in life," she said.

A food bank profile: Sparrow Serivces in Lake Oswgo, Oregon

A profile on a food bank caught our eye this morning. The Oregon newspaper Lake Oswego Review profiled Sparrow Services which is based out of Hope Community Church.

The story echoed what we are hearing from many food bank leaders, that there is a new face of hunger in America due to the recession. People who were once well off now have to receive donations to feed themselves, some do it in secret.

Reporter for the Lake Oswego Review Cliff Newell, interviewed Sparrow Services leader Keith Dickerson for the story.

Certainly, Sparrow Services is doing great work by feeding the hungry. Yet perhaps what is most unique about it is who these hungry people are.

“We don’t get many transients any more,” Keith Dickerson said, “where we just give them some popup cans of Vienna sausage or some chili.”

Instead, Sparrow Services receives people who live in Lake Oswego. Not down-and-outers, but people who not long ago were well off and who often still live in fine homes. But in these times they are going hungry.

“There’s a big demand in Lake Oswego,” Keith Dickerson said. “I’ve pastored in Illinois, Minnesota, and Georgia, and our food ministry in Lake Oswego is different from anywhere else. Hungry people here are in the stealth mode. They want to be anonymous, and we often find out about them from a neighbor or co-worker.

“Sometimes people who need food the worse are the last ones to let you know. They’re meek and quiet and appreciative. They come in softly and leave gratefully. They are people in great need.

“Approaching them is an art, it’s a different dance. You can’t do it brazenly but quietly. The art is giving them the permission to take what the community has for them.

“Some live in nice homes, but they’re tax assessment poor. Sometimes they short themselves on things they need.

“These are people now having to say to themselves ‘I could go hungry.’ That’s been an awakening for us.”

A successful program in Portland, Oregon that could work elsewhere

The Northwest Area Foundation is an organization that combats poverty in the northern plains of the US. At a recent meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota an innovative program was spotlighted that the organization hopes to bring to other locations.

The Economic Opportunity Initiative uses a combination of workforce programs and micro enterprise to give people skills that will lift themselves out of poverty.

The Minnesota Spokesman Recorder noted the comments of the programs designer Howard Cutler.

Its main goal is to increase adult participants’ incomes by a minimum of 25 percent after three years, and also to train youth for jobs that will allow them to pursue higher education or a career path. The seven micro-enterprise projects help participants to start or expand small businesses.

Portland’s previous attempts to eliminate poverty only produced minimal results, especially among long-term residents. “There are multiple reasons why an individual is poor,” said Cutler. “Our goal was to use a people-centered strategy, [and] the projects are built around the strengths of the individual.” The essence of the “Portland model,” then, appears to be making a special effort to match individuals who are living in poverty with training and jobs matched to their individual interests and talents.

He announced that this past year the Initiative graduated its first class. Eighty percent of the participants were earning below the federal poverty level when they first enrolled in 2004-05; 51 percent are people of color, and 74 percent were unemployed at the time of enrollment.

According to Cutler, 25-30 percent of the participants “are [young] African Americans,” adding that the enrollees’ incomes have nearly doubled after completing the program.

“Every individual is tracked for three years to see if there is improvement,” he explained. “Our goal is to decrease poverty.”

Cutler said that there are now 2,000 Portland residents enrolled in the Initiative, adding that his program will be needed “as long as poverty exists” in Portland. For the past 18 months, Cutler has been a consultant for “Duluth at Work.”

Oregon state report on poverty

A new report on poverty in the state of Oregon shows that 13 percent of the states population lives below the federal poverty line. The survey was conducted by Oregon Housing and Community Services and the Community Action Partnership of Oregon.

The unveiling press conference took place at the Oregon state capital, KPTV has a story on the the reports findings. The link to the full story has a county by county breakdown of poverty measures in Oregon.

The new report brings together data on the number of people experiencing poverty with information about the difficult choices low-income families face and indicators that can drive increases in poverty.

OHCS developed a Basic Family Budget for each county to provide insight into what families really need to make ends meet, from childcare to food to transportation. The county summaries also present recent data about job and population growth, housing and energy costs, and homelessness.

The report pulls together data from the US Census, Oregon Department of Revenue, Oregon Department of Human Services, Oregon Employment Department and a variety of federal and independent studies to paint a picture of poverty in Oregon.

# Among the report's key findings: In 2007, poverty affected 13 percent of Oregonians.
# African American and Native Americans were twice as likely to live in poverty as their White and Asian neighbors.
# One of five Oregonians with disabilities lived in poverty.
# Inability to afford rent was the most frequently cited cause of homelessness in the state.

The report is available on the department's website at www.ohcs.oregon.gov.

A shopping spree for fellow students who are less fortunate

A high school in Oregon has a great way to help during the holidays. They conduct a yearly shopping spree to help those less fortunate in their school.

Students a Bend High in Oregon shop for a project called Thankful Families. Funds are raised by the student council, and are spent by buying Thanksgiving groceries for poor families in their area.

The Bulletin's Shelia Miller notes that Eight families each received $110 worth of food.

Allison Tash, 17, has been participating in the Thankful Families project for three years.

“It’s just great to know you’re helping your community, kids at Bend High,” said Tash, who partnered with Allison Lake, 15.

Erickson’s Thriftway in Bend provides free turkeys for the families. But the rest is up to the students. On Friday, students paired up, then moved through the store filling a grocery cart. Most pairs had a calculator, which they used to make sure they weren’t spending too much on any one item.

The challenge for the kids was to provide as much food as possible, not only for Thanksgiving dinner but also for the week. The pair who got closest to $110 without going over budget will be treated to lunch with activities coordinator Jan McKnight.

Bend-La Pine Schools has no classes next week, and McKnight noted most of the Bend High students who will benefit from the program receive free or reduced lunch.

The families who receive the food are anonymous. McKnight delivers the food; the high school students doing the shopping just know how many people are in the family, different foods the family would like to have, and whether they have any food allergies.

Orphanage offers chance at success for Mexican youths

from the Statesman Journal

This is a profile of an orphanage in Mexico. Churches in Oregon work with this orphanage sending volunteers and donations their way. Info on how to donate is at the bottom. - Kale

by Dick Hughes

Mario kept his promise: He was graduating.

Now we had to fulfill our part of the bargain.

So last week found my family 2,594 miles from Salem in the steamy rainforest of southern Mexico.

We joined the rows of proud parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings and guardians as the middle-school students marched in formation to receive their certificates and grades.

Yes, middle school. With elaborate ceremony, Mexican schools celebrate success at each stage — primary, middle and high schools.

Making it through middle school was a big accomplishment for 16-year-old Mario.

His mother died several years ago. He and an older brother are among 80 youths at Hogar Infantil, an orphanage in Ocozocoautla de Espinoza, Chiapas.

My wife, son and daughter started volunteering at Hogar several years ago. I was a belated convert.

Initially a skeptic — why volunteer at a Mexican orphanage when there are so many pressing needs right here in the Mid-Valley? — I'm now an apostle.

Hogar Infantil is the difference between a life of opportunity and one of crushing poverty in Chiapas. All the kids learn useful job skills while performing their chores around Hogar, which is known as the ranch. About one-fourth of the residents go on to college.

A young woman who was raised at Hogar returned to the orphanage last week to encourage the youths to work hard and stay in school. She's now a doctor.

Another resident will finish her industrial-engineering degree in September.

One young man gets up at 4 a.m. to travel by foot and bus to his computer-science classes. He'd tried living with a relative but returned to Hogar — "this is my home, my family." To help pay for college, he spent a year in national service as a teacher in indigenous villages so remote that he had to hike two or three hours to reach them.

A man who became a university professor, having grown up at Hogar and coached soccer there, has his eye on politics.

These stories are in sharp contrast to the countless children of Chiapas who toil long hours in fields or stores — or, in tourist areas, beg on the streets.

That likely would have been Mario's fate if academic or behavioral issues forced him out of Hogar.

Many children wind up at Hogar simply because their parents can't afford to take care of them. Some kids were removed from abusive homes; others are orphans.

But that sanctuary from societal poverty comes with high expectations: Residents must fulfill their responsibilities in school and at the ranch. With school out for a short summer vacation, the older boys, including Mario, arose before 6:30 a.m. Sunday to plant corn by hand. The previous days had found boys of all ages wielding machetes to cut grass and weeds. The girls made tortillas and did household chores, including helping prepare the simple meals.

And, of course, there were the goats, pigs, chickens and other animals to tend to.

For all the hard work, Hogar is a caring, supportive environment that builds a lifelong commitment among the residents. Kids look out for one another. They've learned to share, to get along, to resolve disputes among themselves instead of running to adults for solutions.

Even in that environment — still economically poor by U.S. standards but immensely rich in friendship, love and family values — some kids can struggle.

Free-spirited Mario was one.

Donations from Americans provide most of the operating money for Hogar, which receives no government funding.

Contributions are tax-deductible, as Hogar is 501(c)(3) non-profit.

You can help by sending a check to Hogar Infantil, P.O. Box 7049, Salem, OR 97303. Or go online to www.mygiftoflove.com.

Link to full article. May expire in future.

Oregon ranks No. 17 in latest Kids Count

from Oregon Live

Oregon and Washington ranked top nationally for the fewest babies born with a low birth weight of 5.5 pounds or less.

Babies with low birth weights are more likely to die in the first year or suffer disabilities. Oregon and Washington's low birth weight score: 6.1 percent of all births. Far below the national average of 8.2 percent.

Oregon's overall ranking in the annual Kids Count state-by-state comparison remained the same as last year: No. 17. Washington ranked No. 11 overall; up from No. 13 in 2007.


Kids Count is a project sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation to measure issues affecting children's well-being. Other highlights from the 2008 data book released Thursday:

• Children without health insurance (2005). Oregon: 11 percent. Washington: 7 percent. U.S. average: 11 percent.

• Infant mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births in 2005). Oregon: 5.9. Washington: 5.1. U.S.: 6.9.

• Teen death rate (deaths per 1,000 teens ages 15-19 in 2005). Oregon: 51. Washington 53. U.S.: 65.

• Teen birth rate (births per 1,000 females ages 15-19 in 2005). Oregon: 33. Washington: 31. U.S.: 40.

• Median income of families with children, 2006. Oregon: $52,200. Washington: $58,800. U.S.: $54,500.

• Children living in poverty (income below $20,44 for a family of two adults and two kids in 2006. Oregon 17 percent. Washington: 15 percent. U.S: 18 percent.

-- Michelle Cole; michellecole@news.oregonian.com

Schools set plans to deal with students in poverty

from The Statesman Journal

Almost half of Salem-Keizer kids get free or reduced-price meals

TRACY LOEW
Statesman Journal

The number of Salem-Keizer students in poverty has grown from 14,000 to 19,700 in the past four years. That's nearly half the district's enrollment, Superintendent Sandy Husk told about 30 people at forum on poverty Wednesday night.

Those students are more likely to start school academically behind their more well-off peers, Husk told the group. And about 16 percent of students come to the district speaking a language other than English.

"We need to figure out ways to organize our work to meet the needs of those students," she said. "As our demographic population has changed and we have a wider range of needs and issues, it's more important that we're able to individualize instruction."

The district has two major initiatives under way to accomplish that goal, Husk said.

First, it is implementing a "formative assessment" system that will help teachers figure out what a particular child knows and needs to learn.

Second, it's stepping up professional development for teachers.

"What we have to focus on is having a highly trained teacher that's well supported in every classroom," Husk said.

The school district defines "students in poverty" as those who receive free or reduced-price meals. That's different than the poverty level defined by the federal government.

Using that measure, according to recently released Census figures, 17.7 percent of school-age children in the Salem-Keizer boundary came from families living in poverty in 2005. That's about the same as the state and national rates.

Children from families making up to 185 percent of the federal poverty line qualify for reduced-price lunches.

Husk said she hopes to move the community conversation beyond the data and whether the numbers are good or bad. For educators, she said, they are simply a demographic that influences instructional strategies.

Poverty level in local schools not as bleak as stated

from The Statesman Journal

Students still in need, but not as many as officials have said

TRACY LOEW
Statesman Journal

For more than a year, in speeches to churches, community groups and parents, Salem-Keizer Schools Superintendent Sandy Husk has pounded home the difficulties of educating children who live in poverty.

The district's mediocre test scores are no surprise, she says, considering that more than half of Salem-Keizer students live in poverty. She wrote in this year's budget document, the U.S. Census shows that Salem has the highest number of students in poverty of any city in the state.

School board vice-chairwoman Krina Lemons has echoed that message, calling Salem-Keizer "the most poverty-stricken school district in Oregon."

But newly released Census figures show that the situation isn't quite that dire.

In 2005, 17.7 percent of school-age children in the Salem-Keizer boundary came from families living in poverty, up from 17.0 percent in 2003.

That's about the same as the state and national rates, which are 16.6 percent and 17 percent respectively.

According to the Census data, 91 Oregon school districts have a higher percentage of students in poverty than Salem-Keizer, including Portland, Woodburn and Centennial (in Portland).

Husk told parents at a Jan. 7 meeting that the district has the highest number of students in poverty statewide. Actually, that distinction goes to Portland, with 12,314. Salem has 7,394.

The district reports poverty counts to the state in order to receive extra funding for students in poverty. Those reports show the number of students in poverty hovering at about 18 percent for the past few years.

So why the confusion?

Husk said Thursday that her statements about Salem-Keizer School District having the most children in poverty were in error, and she will correct the information.

She said she was drawing from a report from the Oregon Progress Board showing that in 2004, Marion County had the highest percentage of people living in poverty among 12 urban counties studied. The Progress Board doesn't report city or school district statistics.

Husk said her statements about half the district's children living in poverty refer to the percentage receiving free or reduced-price lunches.

Still, neither the school district nor Marion County top that list either, as Husk has alternately claimed.

Ninety-two Oregon school districts have a higher percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunches than Salem-Keizer. They include Woodburn, with 83.5 percent; Falls City, with 80.5 percent; and Gervais, with 76.2 percent.

And nine counties have a higher percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunches than Marion County.

"My intent has been and is to show the changing demographics in our community, a growing rate in poverty of the children we serve, and most importantly how poverty can have an impact on learning," Husk said.

Families earning up to 185 percent of the poverty line qualify for free or reduced lunches. For a family of four, that's an income of $38,203 per year.

Last school year, 47.9 percent of Salem-Keizer students qualified, according to state Department of Education records. But the rate fluctuates monthly, reaching 52.7 percent in May 2006 and 51.5 percent in May 2007.

"May is a good month to use because by the end of the school year, families are well aware of the program and have had ample time to sign up and participate," Husk said.

Lemons, meanwhile, called Salem-Keizer "the most poverty-stricken school district in Oregon" in a blurb for a speech she is giving next month at a national conference. She said that's because eight of Oregon's 10 poorest schools, measured by the percentage of children getting free and reduced-price lunches, are in Salem-Keizer.

That assertion has been made by others in the community, and Lemons said she thinks it came from a grant document written about three years ago.

But it's not true. Just one of the state's 10 poorest schools is in Salem-Keizer, according to the state Department of Education.

Hoover Elementary, where 94.4 percent of students get free or reduced-price lunches, is No. 5. The next Salem-Keizer school on the list is Highland, at No. 20, then Weddle, at No. 37.

All this is not to say that the poverty level in the Salem-Keizer School District doesn't pose challenges.

The district's poverty rate has been growing, along with the state's. Between 1999 and 2005, Salem-Keizer's poverty rate rose from 15.1 percent to 17.7 percent. During the same period, Oregon's poverty rate rose from 14 percent to 16.6 percent.

Poor children often enter school with a smaller vocabulary and less exposure to educational experiences. That can translate into lower test scores. Last year, fewer Salem-Keizer students passed the state reading and math tests than in any of the state's 10 largest districts.

In response to the rising poverty rates and poor student achievement, the League of Women Voters of Marion and Polk Counties has taken on poverty as its issue for the year.

"We have a good many members who are aware that it's having a very heavy impact on the schools, on housing, on jobs. There's a very high percentage of people in poverty in the Marion-Polk county area," program chairwoman Rose Lewis said.

Although they recognize the problem, Salem-Keizer School Board members won't take it up as an issue, school board member Steve Chambers said.

"That's not the board's function. That's the administration's function. Our job is to determine policy and budget," Chambers said. "It's not something that comes to the school board for us to review."

The U.S. Census' most recent poverty estimates, for 2005, were released last month for each of the nation's 14,000 Title I-eligible school districts.

The official poverty figures are important to school districts because they are used by the U.S. Department of Education to implement provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, and to allocate federal money to districts.

tloew@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6779

More to Qualify for Oregon Health Plan as Poverty Line Rises

from The Salem News

At its peak, the Oregon Health Plan served 132,000 poor people, its enrollment has fallen to 19,000.

(SILVERTON, Ore.) - The poverty line inched up today with the federal government's release of the 2008 Federal Poverty Income Guidelines, affecting eligibility for a number of federal and state programs such as the Oregon Health Plan.

"The annual increase in the poverty level acknowledges that the rise in the cost of living makes it harder for working families to make ends meet and makes more people eligible for a variety of public benefits," said Michael Leachman, policy analyst with the Oregon Center for Public Policy.

The guidelines' definition of poverty varies according to family size. Under the guidelines published in today's Federal Register, for example, a family of three with an annual income of $17,600 or under qualifies as poor, compared to $17,170 for 2007.

To rise above the 2008 poverty level, a full-time worker supporting a family of three would need to earn more than $8.46 per hour. Oregon's 2008 hourly minimum wage is $7.95.

As a result of the increase in the poverty line, more Oregonians are likely to qualify for the Oregon Health Plan, which is gearing up to re-open enrollment, according to Leachman. He noted that enrollment has been closed since mid-2004.

Starting on January 28th and continuing through February 29th, the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) will be accepting reservations for a lottery for new slots in the Oregon Health Plan, Oregon's Medicaid program. Those on the reservation list will participate in a monthly lottery in which 2,000 names will be randomly chosen and invited to apply for the Oregon Health Plan. DHS will keep drawing 2,000 names per month until the program reaches its budgeted level.

At its peak, the Oregon Health Plan served 132,000 poor people, but starting with cuts passed in 1995 and concluding with the closure of the program in 2004, enrollment fell to the currently "meager and shameful" level of 19,000, according to Leachman.

"All low-income uninsured adults in Oregon need to get their names on the reservation list for the Oregon Health Plan lottery," Leachman noted. "If they get lucky and are picked to apply, the state will use the new poverty guidelines released today to determine whether their recent income is low enough to qualify for the heath insurance plan."

The public policy center has links to information about how to get on the reservation list on its website, ocpp.org.

Besides the Oregon Health Plan, the federal poverty income guidelines are used to determine eligibility for programs such as National School Lunch, legal services and Food Stamps. The guidelines are not used for the state's cash assistance welfare program, called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), or for determining eligibility for the federal or state earned income tax credits.

The Oregon Center for Public Policy is a non-partisan research institute that does in-depth research and analysis on budget, tax and economic issues. The Center's goal is to improve decision making and generate more opportunities for all Oregonians.

Poverty and hunger basis of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day event at Southwestern

from KCBY

By Kristina Nelson
Coos Bay - Local students and community members are exposed to the problem of hunger around the world through a special event in honor of an influential political leader, who made it his goal to fight for human rights.

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, students and the community took part in a Hunger Banquet at Southwestern Friday evening.

Organized by students and faculty, the focus of the evening was to show the ongoing issue of poverty and hunger around the world.

"Dr. Kings big topics were racial injustice, poverty and the Vietnam war. So in celebration of his birthday, we decided to focus on poverty, and we're having this hunger banquet to help students can community members get a visual for what hunger looks like," says event organizer Julia Rose.

Attendants were broken into three income groups including high, middle, and low to show where the majority of the world's population falls.

Rose says the banquet opens up people's eyes to the role poverty and hunger play in the world and closer to home.

"I hope that this event shows that poverty is not just a problem far away but here, now as well. Over fifty percent of this county is at the poverty level and it's important for people to recognize that."

This event is one of many Southwestern will be hosting in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Youth and adults encouraged to fight poverty by joining AmeriCorps VISTA

from Oregon Live

A new public service campaign was launched today to enlist Oregonians in the fight against poverty by joining AmeriCorps VISTA, a national service program.

"VISTAs live and serve in some of Oregon's poorest urban and rural areas, mobilizing local resources and giving people in poverty the tools they need to help themselves," said Amy Dailey, director of the Oregon office of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that oversees AmeriCorps VISTA.

VISTA was founded in 1964 as part of the War on Poverty. Daily said that since then, more than 177,000 Americans have devoted a year of full-time service. They have lived and worked in lower-income communities to help eradicate, or wipe out, poverty.

"Made part of AmeriCorps in 1993, VISTA provides 6,500 opportunities each year for individuals to create and expand programs that fight illiteracy, improve health services, foster business and economic development, increase housing opportunities, and otherwise help low-income individuals and communities toward self-sufficiency."

Nearly 37 million Americans, including 13 million children, live in poverty, she added. An estimated 11.9 percent of Oregon residents live below the poverty line. "That means over 440,000 Oregonians may be forced to choose between eating dinner, obtaining a vital prescription or paying the monthly heating bill."

In Oregon, more than 90 members serve at over 100 locations through 14 sponsoring organizations. They include the Native American Youth and Family Center, Umpqua Community Action Network, Oregon Volunteers, American Red Cross, and Community Services Consortium.

"Overall in 2006, VISTA members in Oregon raised more than $3,243,026 in cash and in-kind resources for their anti-poverty projects."

Dailey gave the Native American Youth and Family Center program as an example of a successful VISTA enterprise. NAYA focuses on youth and parent education, youth and adult employment, rental assistance and housing, family healing services, foster care, cultural arts and sports programs for the Native community.

"After just three months the first of many goals was accomplished. The NAYA Early College Academy opened its doors to youth in grades 9-12. The academy, which provides both a high school diploma and college credit for Native and non-Native youth, helped NAYA become a leader in rising to address widespread poverty issues through education, not only in the Native urban community, but in the north and northeast Portland neighborhoods it serves.

AmeriCorps members serve in area schools as well, helping youth of all ages in reading and class work.

"All AmeriCorps members are catalysts for change," Dailey said. "They identify resources and engage people in the community to expand access to education, housing, jobs, credit, technology and more.

"VISTAs are poverty fighters who channel their ideals and energy to build successful, sustainable programs that help people and communities lift themselves out of poverty."

In return for a year of service, VISTAs and an additional 600 AmeriCorps members serving in Oregon receive benefits including a modest living allowance, health care and relocation expenses, Dailey explained.

At completion of their term of service, all AmeriCorps members, including VISTAs, receive a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $4,725 to use toward college or to pay off qualified student loans.

Alternately, VISTAs can choose to receive a cash stipend of $1,200. VISTA members are coordinated and funded through the Corporation for National and Community Service Oregon state program office. All other AmeriCorps programs in the state are supported by Oregon Volunteers, Commission for Voluntary Action and Service.

For more information on national service programs in the state, visit www.orgegonvolunteers.org.

For more on AmeriCorps, visit nationalservice.gov.

Kulongoski says education key to ending poverty cycle

from the Statesman Journal

Governor to kick off tour to talk about new finance plan

EUNICE KIM
Statesman Journal

Gov. Ted Kulongoski thinks there's a way out of the cycle of poverty, and he can explain it in one word: education.

Kulongoski spoke about education being the "pathway out of poverty" during a speech Wednesday at Chemeketa Community College. An auditorium full of students, faculty members and others listened to his lecture "Addressing Poverty Through Education," which included a question and answer session.

"A good higher education system is critical to ending the cycle of poverty in Oregon," Kulongoski said. "You cannot escape poverty without a job ... and in today's economy, you can't get that family-wage job with just a high school diploma or GED."

The governor said he plans to kick off a statewide tour this month to talk about a new education finance plan that would help Oregon students and their families pay for higher education. The program, he said, would be geared to help middle-class families -- those often left behind when it comes to financial aid -- and would be based on a model of "shared responsibility."

"This new plan will ensure that if you live in Oregon, use the resources that are available to you and are willing to work hard for your education, you will be given the opportunity to go to college and obtain a profession or skill," Kulongoski said.

During the next 10 years, it's projected that Oregon will have to fill more than 663,000 job openings, he said. Eighty percent of those jobs will require education and skills training beyond high school.

Chemeketa student Elizabeth Grace, 18, said Kulongoski's speech was informative. She said students don't often sit around thinking about poverty in Oregon, so it was good the governor got their minds churning.

The lecture was sponsored by Chemeketa's Multicultural Committee, which hosts events that highlight issues around race, ethnicity, disability and other cultural differences. Committee member David Hardesty said poverty is a relevant issue for many Chemeketa students. He hopes to spark a larger discussion around poverty and education on campus.

"A college is a place for students to question policies," said Hardesty, an instructor in adult basic education and GED preparation at Chemeketa. "It is the center for new ideas and thinking."

ekim@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6721

Helping end poverty is all in a day's work

from The Oregonian

GOSIA WOZNIACKA
The Oregonian

Jean DeMaster's typical day is ambitious.

In the morning, facilitate a meeting of metro-area agencies that serve low-income families and try to come up with a way to improve the overall service system.

In the afternoon, work on grant applications to fund building a multiservice center in Gresham's Rockwood neighborhood.


And in the evening, attend a Gresham city meeting to discuss affordable housing and advocate for people who may become homeless if problem housing is torn down or sold.

The organization DeMaster heads provides anti-poverty and homelessness-prevention programs in east Multnomah County, including emergency shelter, clothing and food, transitional and affordable housing, rent and utility assistance, employment training and placement, and ESL and computer classes.

In the recently concluded fiscal year, Human Solutions served about 91,000 east county residents, a 39 percent increase from the previous year. Most of the families are the working poor, DeMaster said, and many are single parents struggling to make ends meet on minimum wage. Some are recent immigrants -- and Human Solutions employs staff who speak a variety of languages.

The trends are not encouraging -- a homeless count in May found that more children and families are now homeless in east county.

"We are seeing more homelessness and more families in desperate situations," DeMaster said. "We're also seeing more people doubled up (in apartments) with other people. That's putting a lot of pressure on families and putting children at risk due to overcrowding."

Another sign is the rising number of people unable to pay their energy bills, even during the summer, DeMaster said. She worries children may be eating spoiled food because their parents' refrigerators are turned off or may lack air conditioning during hot days.

DeMaster has a long history of serving homeless and low-income folks: Before coming to Human Solutions in 2002, she served as executive director of Portland's YWCA and even had a women's shelter -- Jean's Place -- named after her. She worked for Transitions, a project for single men and women.

The draw to Human Solutions: She can help people gain self-sufficiency and build something more permanent.

"There needs to be more-permanent affordable housing," she said, "otherwise we won't solve the homelessness problem."

Director of state's anti-poverty agency is moved to help others

from The Statesman Journal

His own family faced hard times financially when he was a child

THELMA GUERRERO

Victor Merced knows poverty.

The new executive director of Housing and Community Services grew up on welfare for much of his boyhood in the Bronx.

The oldest of six children, he migrated to the United States from Puerto Rico with his parents during the 1950s as a 1-year-old.

A former second baseman for the Buffalo Bisons in New York, a minor league team affiliated with the Cleveland Indians, Merced recently spoke about his passions, family, hardships, diversity, and professional challenges during a sit-down interview with the Statesman Journal.

Question: When did you become executive director of Housing and Community Services?

Answer: I was appointed by Governor (Ted) Kulongoski in September. I started the job on Sept. 5.

Q: Is it true that you're the first Hispanic to hold this post?

A: Yes.

Q: How do you feel about that?

A: Well, I feel proud. I know my mother appreciates it. She's been on me to send her a picture of the governor and me. I don't think she believes it yet.

Q: Are there other Hispanics who hold similar posts in state government?

A: I believe I'm the only Latino at this executive level right now. I think I'm also the only person of color at this level. But I'm hopeful that will change.

Q: Have you come up against any real challenges in the agency yet?

A: Making sure that we're clear in our communications. This is a fairly complex agency. We operate like a bank. We're the state's housing finance agency, and so we're the ones that put out all the bonds and indentures. We're basically self-financed. We have very little general-fund money. Most of our revenue is self-generated. It's very technical banking language that makes most folks' eyes roll, so it's a challenge that we have in terms of our communications with the public.

Q: Who benefits from this agency?

A: We're considered the state's anti-poverty agency. People we help are low-income people. We provide rental assistance and down-payment assistance to first-time home buyers who are below a certain income level. We also serve the homeless indirectly through grants and resources we provide to community action agencies across the state.

Q: What's the draw to public service?

A: My religious beliefs, instilled in me by my parents, who were devout Roman Catholics. They taught me, and I still believe, that we benefit from helping each other more than we benefit from fighting against each other. My whole approach has been to help as many people as I can, to try to accommodate concerns or needs in the community.

Q: Were your parents a big influence in your life?

A: Yes, both were great role models. My father not only owned a small grocery store, he also had a small moving business. Here was a guy with no skills, who didn't speak English, yet he went out one day and bought a store and later a moving truck. He was very entrepreneurial. He may have been uneducated, but he was a hard worker and that was instilled in us early on.

Q: Did you and your siblings help out around the store?

A: Yes. After my father would finish putting in a 12-hour day at the store, he'd pack us kids in the moving truck so we could help him move a family from one apartment to the next. We'd all help load a family's belongings into our dad's truck and then unload them at that family's new home. We also moved people on weekends.

Q: Did your mother work outside the home?

A: Yes. My mother worked in the garment industry, but she finally quit to take care of us kids. I saw the sacrifices my parents made and I did not want to be poor because, as hard as we worked, we were still poor, I mean, we were a family of eight.

Q: Did your family's poverty have an impact on you?

A: Yes. When the grocery store wasn't doing well, my father sold it. He later had to sell the truck, too. We ended up on public assistance for a long time, so we were very poor. I remember going to school with holes in my shoes, my socks hanging out of the holes, in the cold winter weather in New York City. It was humiliating. I was made fun of. Kids would laugh at us because we'd wear pants that were either worn out or we wore the same pants the entire month. I remember many of our dinners consisted of rice and milk only.

Q: How much of that fuels your passion for public service?

A: Every bit. When you grow up that poor, you don't forget. But my mother always said the way not to be poor was to get an education, so that's what I did.

Q: Are your parents still alive?

A: My mother is. My father died when I was 15 and since I was the oldest, I had to help take care of the family.

Q: How did you do that?

A: Well, when we went on public assistance, my father was humiliated. He vowed to never again be on welfare, so he saved his money and eventually bought himself another grocery store, and we went off welfare. After he died, I helped my mother with the store while also attending high school.

Population of poor rises 57 percent in five years

from The Oregonian

Jill Rehkoph Smith

Valerie Young, 23, visited the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry in Hillsboro for the first time last week. With 1-year-old son Matthew in the shopping cart, she perused shelves, choosing items to help tide her over until her food stamp application is processed.

Young is supporting two other children and -- with her mother in prison -- a 13-year-old brother. She said she knows how to make food stretch. "My mom taught us about 10 ways to make ramen," she said. "The best way is you cook it till it's barely crunchy and then add some eggs."

Since losing her job at WinCo, the Hillsboro mother has joined the ranks of the suburban poor, who now outnumber inner-city poor nationally, according to a report released last week by the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C., think tank.

The report tracks changes in poverty for the 100 largest metropolitan areas from 1999 through 2005. In 2005, the poverty level for a family of three was an income of $15,753.

The Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area had one of the fastest growing poverty rates in the country for both city and suburbs. Its central-city area was the only one west of the Rockies to rank in the top 11, with an increase in child poverty rates that was second in the nation.

In Washington County, the number of people in poverty has grown five times as fast as the general population, said Jeri Alcock, development director for Community Action, a nonprofit offering extensive services for low-income residents of the county.

From 2000 to 2005, the county's population grew 11 percent, while the poverty population grew 57 percent, according to Community Action's annual "Issues of Poverty" report.

A variety of factors may be responsible. For example, housing is considered affordable if people pay no more than a third of their income for it, Alcock said. But Washington County has the highest land costs in the state, she said, and rent is too high for many people, particularly in light of recent economic changes.

"Job development is taking a scary turn," Alcock said, citing data that show low-wage positions (that pay no more than $30,000 a year) account for 63 percent of the county's job growth since 2000.

Roughly 65 percent of people seeking free health care at the Essential Health Clinic in Hillsboro are employed, said Executive Director Linda Nilsen-Solares.

She added that many of the people coming to her clinic were among the 80,000 dropped from the Oregon Health Plan when the state made cuts in 2003.

At the Oregon Food Bank, distribution of food boxes in Washington County increased by 7 percent from fiscal year 2004-2005 to 2005-2006 -- for a total of 39,451 distributed last year. By comparison, distribution increased by 2 percent in Multnomah and Clark counties and dropped by 1 percent in Clackamas County during that time.

One reason for Washington County's increase might be the Food Bank's outreach work over the past three years, said CEO Rachel Bristol. After seeing statistics on the county's dramatic rise in poverty, the Food Bank began establishing new programs and stepping up its efforts here.

Meanwhile, agencies partnering with the Food Bank report that redevelopment in inner Portland has priced many low-income people out of their neighborhoods and into suburbs at the city's edge.

Len Miller, who helps run the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry, has seen such an increase reflected in its clients, whose numbers have doubled since 1999.

More than 60 percent are Latino, she said, although most come just a few times before finding help elsewhere or becoming self-sufficient.

Among the regulars who come back monthly, Miller said, are "retired ladies whose Social Security is about $800 a month."

Jill Rehkopf Smith: 503-294-5908; jillsmith@news.oregonian.com