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. - Kaleby Dick HughesMario 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...
After three and a half weeks, two coasts
and six states, the 2008 Carpetblog Batan Death March is finally over. We saw
hundreds of friends and relatives -- for 15 minutes each-- attended two weddings (the Producer did three), made lots of
new friends, turned 40, initiated the aporkalypse more than once and sold
almost everything in our Portland storage unit for less than $5 per item. (Most common phrases: "No, Mom, you didn't give us that." "No, of course not! We would never sell a wedding gift.") Because we have no shortage of opinions, there were some things we liked. Most of these things fall into the categories of "food" and "booze" -- two areas in which America excels and for which we had high expectations. Of course, there are also some things we suggest you avoid. As it turns out,...
from Oregon LiveOregon 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....
from The Statesman JournalAlmost half of Salem-Keizer kids get free or reduced-price mealsTRACY LOEWStatesman JournalThe 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...
from The Statesman JournalStudents still in need, but not as many as officials have saidTRACY LOEWStatesman JournalFor 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...
from The Salem NewsAt 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...
from KCBY By Kristina NelsonCoos 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...
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...
from the Statesman JournalGovernor to kick off tour to talk about new finance planEUNICE KIMStatesman JournalGov. 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...
from The OregonianGOSIA WOZNIACKAThe OregonianJean 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...
from The Statesman JournalHis own family faced hard times financially when he was a childTHELMA GUERREROVictor 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...
from The OregonianJill Rehkoph SmithValerie 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...