"Love, The Youth..."

The following poem was taped to the Yellow Brick Road office door this morning...

Yellow Brick Road

You recognize them by the bags they wear
Their smiles let you know they care
Often you'll see the RTA's
Unselfishly leading the way
They lead their life with the rule
That drugs just aren't cool
And the kind hearted volunteers dedicating
Thier time
Though they don't get paid a dime
They get rewarded by heartfelt thank you's
For all the wonderful things they do
When one of them you happen to meet
As they walk down the street
In appreciation just say hi's
To some awesome guys
Even when it showers
They continue to walk long hours
For us
~Mouse

P.S.
This poem is a token of thanks for you volunteering your time to ensure we stay safe. What would we do without the volunteers, RTA's, Dennis, Neal, and everyone else? Keep on doin' what you're doin'.
Love,
the youth

PROJECT HOMELESS CONNECT

Project Homeless Connect takes place this Friday August 22nd from 10am until 4pm at the Waterfront Park in downtown Portland! Project Homeless Connect is a collaboration of agencies, social services, and the Portland community at large coming together to help solve issues of homelessness and poverty. Please spread the word about this amazing event and if you wish to get involved as a volunteer you can find more information here.

STREET ROOTS

Yellow Brick Road is featured in this week's edition of Street Roots (June 27, 2008)!

Yellow Brick Road Awarded!

Yellow Brick Road was a recipient of the first annual Coordinating Committee to End Homelessness Achievment Award for our outstanding efforts in reaching out to homeless youth and others experiencing homelessness in the Portland community. The award was accepted by Program Supervisor Dennis Lundberg on behalf of ALL the volunteers, outreach specialists, and peer advocates who make Yellow Brick Road one of the most highly respected outreach programs in the nation.

Here's a great shot of all the recipients receiving their awards with Mayor Tom Potter. Photo courtesy Dove Hotz.

HEALTH FAIR THIS SATURDAY (June 14)!

There will be a Health Fair open to all in the Portland area THIS SATURDAY JUNE 14th! Our advice is GET THERE EARLY...

Woodmere Elementary School
7900 SE Duke St. Portland, OR 97206.

9am – 4pm

Basic Medical exams
Basic Dental Cleanings and Emergency Treatment
Free Chiropractic Exams
Basic Eye Exams
Social Services
Free Lunch, and more!

Go to www. compassionse. org for more info. Please spread the word to anyone who may benefit from these services.

ANIMAL HEATH CLINIC

Animal Health Clinic is available THIS SUNDAY for animals living with people experiencing or transitioning from homelessness! Services are available on a first-come-first-served basis so arrive early if possible.

Sunday June 8
1pm-4pm
Outside In Arts Building
1030 SW 13th Ave.
(503) 535-3844

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS TRAINING!

Janus Youth Programs and the Northwest Constitutional Rights Center are proud to present 'Know Your Rights', a free training for people under 25 years of age and experiencing homelessness in Portland. The training will take place on Wednesday May 28th at Portland: Outreach & Engagement (O&E) so while you're there for the training you can also grab a meal, take a shower, do laundry, and access our phones & computers. Please remember that this training is only available to people under 25. We hope to see you there!

Wednesday May 28th
12:30pm
1635 SW Alder Street
Portland, Oregon

Regarding The Homeless Protest At City Hall...

Mayor Tom Potter has issued a statement regarding the homeless protest outside City Hall. Starting today, Saturday May 10th, Portland Police have been instructed to enforce standard Protest Guidelines. This essentially means the homeless campers will need to abide by the same standards the City of Portland expects of all citizenry protests. As of today the campers will no longer be allowed to have sleeping bags or other belongings on the sidewalk. They can carry signs but cannot have signs, tarps, or banners leaning on or fixed to property. They need to remain in motion so can no longer sit or lie on the sidewalk. They also need to remain within a certain distance from the protest site to be considered part of the protest. Mayor Tom Potter has also decided to close the City Hall bathroom after regular business hours while the protest continues. Mayor Potter identified unsanitary use of the facility as his reason for the bathroom closure. Enforcement of Protest Guidelines at City Hall presumably implies that police will maintain a presence in the area and monitor the protest more closely. Police are also expected to post signs at City Hall this weekend stating that on Tuesday May 13th they will begin sweeping the area. The City has cited growing numbers of homeless protesters and increasing complaints of drug use in the area as the primary reason they will be taking action swifter than initially expected. Yellow Brick Road outreach workers will spread this information on the streets starting this evening in an effort to minimize rumors and misinformation.

TRAINING THIS SUNDAY!

Yellow Brick Road invites you to attend OUR FREE volunteer training this Sunday May 4th! Our trainings are a great opportunity to learn more about street outreach and meet the current volunteer outreach teams. This training will focus on street mental health and we will have a guest speaker from Kaiser share with us some common symptoms of mental health we are likely to see on the streets and how we might engage with people experiencing mental health issues more effectively. We'll also discuss some basic coping skills to share with young people dealing with mental health on the streets. We'll even consider our own mental health and take a look at the unique self-care challenges faced by those of us who advocate for people experiencing crisis and trauma. This promises to be a thought-provoking afternoon! We'll get started at 2pm with food & coffee.

SUNDAY MAY 4th
2-5pm

Please R.S.V.P. for location: dlundberg@janusyouth.org

FOOD FRONT SUPPORTS YELLOW BRICK ROAD!

Yellow Brick Road has once again been selected for participation in Food Front's generous Bean Bag program! Food Front is one of Portland's longest-running cooperatively owned grocery stores and their Bean Bag program allows customers to donate 5 cents to various local non-profit organizations every time they shop with their own bags. Next time you shop at Food Front, we hope you'll bring your own recycled shopping bag and consider donating 5 cents to Yellow Brick Road. Those nickels really add up and make a difference!

Food Front Cooperative Grocery
2375 NW Thurman Street
Portland, Oregon
(503) 222-5658

SEVERE WEATHER CALLED FOR MONDAY APRIL 21!

Severe Weather has been called again in Multnomah County for Monday April 21st. This means no one seeking shelter will be turned away tonight. TB cards will be waived due to expected freezing conditions. Agencies may also have some ability to provide hotel vouchers to families with children needing shelter or for medically frail adults who cannot otherwise access the emergency shelters below. For more information contact the WINTER SHELTER HOTLINE from 5-8pm at (503) 721-1500.

Youth/Young Adults to Age 21:

Janus Youth Programs operates both crisis and short-term shelter year-round. There is often room in their crisis shelter so please refer male, female and transgender youth who are under 21 to this service. Please contact Street Light Shelter at (503) 432-3986 or (503) 222-5933 (after 11pm). Janus Youth Shelters are located at located at 1635 SW Alder, Portland. Youth and Young Adults, age 18 and older, are also welcome at the Adult Shelters, including the Severe Weather Shelter Sites for Adults.

Women Only:

Salvation Army Female Emergency Shelter (SAFES)
Ankeny Entry at Harbor Light Site (2nd and Burnside) (503) 731-3942. Space for 12 additional single women via mats on the floor in the day space during severe weather. Day space open 7am to 11pm daily. Shelter open 7:45pm to 7:00 am daily. No pets or carts. Not disability accessible due to steep stairs.

Men Only:

City Team Ministries
526 SE Grand Avenue (503) 231-9334. Space for 10 additional single men via mats on the floor in the main room during severe weather. May also be open during the days during severe weather. Typically there is a $ 4 per night charge, which includes sleeping space and a meal. No pets, and limited space for belongings. Accessible location

Portland Rescue Mission
111 W. Burnside (503) 227-0859. Space for 70 additional single men via mats on the floor in the lobby, may also be open during the days during severe weather. No pets, and limited space for belongings. Accessible location.

SEVERE WEATHER CALLED FOR APRIL 18th-20th!

Severe Weather has been called in Multnomah County for the following nights: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday April 18-20th. This means no one seeking shelter will be turned away this weekend. TB cards will be waived due to expected freezing conditions. Agencies may also have some ability to provide hotel vouchers to families with children needing shelter or for medically frail adults who cannot otherwise access the emergency shelters below:

Youth/Young Adults to Age 21:

Janus Youth Programs operates both crisis and short-term shelter year-round. There is often room in their crisis shelter so please refer male, female and transgender youth who are under 21 to this service. Please contact Street Light Shelter at (503) 432-3986 or (503) 222-5933 (after 11pm). Janus Youth Shelters are located at located at 1635 SW Alder, Portland. Youth and Young Adults, age 18 and older, are also welcome at the Adult Shelters, including the Severe Weather Shelter Sites for Adults.

Women Only:

Salvation Army Female Emergency Shelter (SAFES)
Ankeny Entry at Harbor Light Site (2nd and Burnside) (503) 731-3942. Space for 12 additional single women via mats on the floor in the day space during severe weather. Day space open 7am to 11pm daily. Shelter open 7:45pm to 7:00 am daily. No pets or carts. Not disability accessible due to steep stairs.

Men Only:

City Team Ministries
526 SE Grand Avenue (503) 231-9334. Space for 10 additional single men via mats on the floor in the main room during severe weather. May also be open during the days during severe weather. Typically there is a $ 4 per night charge, which includes sleeping space and a meal. No pets, and limited space for belongings. Accessible location

Portland Rescue Mission
111 W. Burnside (503) 227-0859. Space for 70 additional single men via mats on the floor in the lobby, may also be open during the days during severe weather. No pets, and limited space for belongings. Accessible location.

Outreach Log

One of our amazing volunteers celebrates her 13th year as a Yellow Brick Road outreach worker this week! This makes her our longest-running & most consistent volunteer in the history of the program. Although she wishes to remain anonymous, we wish to thank "J" very much for her dedication to Yellow Brick Road and her incredible energy on the streets of Portland. Thanks for everything you do! It's an honor to have you with us. And in an effort to further celebrate her work with Yellow Brick Road, we are publishing a recent log entry from her team's shift. The following excerpts represent one 3-hour outreach shift on-foot in downtown Portland:

Busy out there tonight! 145 guys and 56 gals, which is a record for me I think. Sheesh. Everywhere we went was really busy, especially under the Steel Bridge and Burnside Bridge...Huge crowds of people and an unusual number of Hispanic men that didn't speak English. Oh, I wish I spoke Spanish on nights like tonight! We were able to refer one man to Outside In medical clinic for chest pains. He was near tears from the pain but refused medical treatment and said he had already been to the hospital. He assured us that he would go to Outside In tomorrow and we gave him a Rose City Resource Guide for other services...We met a man named "Johnny" under the Burnside Bridge who accepted lots of first aid supplies. He said he likes to stock up and distribute supplies to people he meets on the streets. He explained that this prevents him from "having to patch people up with duct tape", like the stab wound he apparently tended to earlier in the evening! Also, his dog "K9" was one of the cutest animals I've ever met! Our hygiene kits were very popular on the streets tonight! People are very appreciative of them...We met a boy who was vague and non-commital about the source of bleeding on his face. If we had to guess I'd say it was a steel-toe boot injury or something similar! We ran out of all first-aid supplies tonight. Everyone needed stuff...our bags were really close to empty by 8pm! At PGE Park we encountered lots of younger folks...things seem to be getting more out-of-hand at the Fireman's Memorial...more alcohol use, more drama, and more shouting than usual. We reminded people to be respectful while they are hanging out at the Memorial. We'll give a heads up to shelter staff as well...There was also a high volume of women on the streets tonight. We gave lots of referrals to S.A.F.E. (Salvation Army Female Emergency Shelter). Overall, an incredibly busy and productive night our there!
~J & J (Monday Night Yellow Brick Road Team)

* Thanks again "J"!
Here's to many more years with Yellow Brick Road...

Child Abuse still rampant in the U.S.

Researchers have recently made public their findings in a nation-wide study that 1 in 50 U.S. infants under one year of age are victims of non-fatal child abuse or neglect. 1 in 50 is a sobering number. The researchers counted more than 91,000 infant victims of abuse and neglect in the period October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006. The information came from a national database of cases verified by protective services agencies in 45 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. "Things like abandonment and newborn drug addiction would qualify as neglect, not things like parents learning how to be parents," said study co-author Rebecca Leeb, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And just on the heels of this study comes the almost indescribable account of a 26 year old man beating a 2 year old girl to death with a video game remote control in York, Pennsylvania this week. Apparently the child's 19 year old mother overheard her boyfriend beating the child from the next room but did not intervene until after the boyfriend had attempted to revive the unconscious girl in a bathtub. The 2 year old was pronounced dead the following day at Hershey Medical Center, police Lt. Ron Camacho said. Youth advocates take heed and take courage! We've still got a lot to do to make this world a safer place for children.

VOLUNTEER TRAINING MAY 4th!

Yellow Brick Road invites you to attend our upcoming FREE volunteer training on Sunday May 4th! Our trainings are a great opportunity to learn more about street outreach and meet the current volunteer outreach teams. This training will focus on street mental health and we will have a guest speaker from Kaiser share with us some common symptoms of mental health we are likely to see on the streets and how we might engage with people experiencing mental health issues more effectively. We'll also discuss some basic coping skills to share with young people dealing with mental health on the streets. We'll even consider our own mental health and take a look at the unique self-care challenges faced by those of us who advocate for people experiencing crisis and trauma. This promises to be a thought-provoking afternoon! We'll get started at 2pm with food & coffee.

SUNDAY MAY 4th
2-5pm

Please R.S.V.P. for location: dlundberg@janusyouth.org

NOW HIRING!

Project Metamorphosis is currently looking for Recovery Mentors and Recovery Transition Advocates to fill entry level, part-time positions within an innovative grant program. Position involves ability to act as a peer among 16-24 year old street youth, providing support, information, referral and crisis intervention to homeless and street dependent youth. Candidates will have experience with addiction issues and homelessness. Qualifications include: experience and/or knowledge of the issues of homelessness and drug and alcohol addiction, GED/high school diploma preferred, at least 1 year in recovery required as well as a pre-employment drug screening.

Position closes April 7, 2008.

Please call (503) 535-1170 for more information.

Outreach Log

People often ask what an evening of Yellow Brick Road Street Outreach actually looks like. The truth is, the streets can vary greatly from night to night but we do our best to be prepared for just about anything we might find out there. In an effort to share with people what we mean by "anything", we'll be posting random Yellow Brick Road log entries. Let's get started with an entry from a particularly eventful night this past weekend. The following excerpts represent one 3-hour outreach shift on-foot in downtown Portland:

Tonight we kept a relaxed pace and enjoyed the beautiful weather but still made lots of connections and managed to accomplish some solid outreach. First we headed over to Pioneer Square where a kid with face-paint and a black trench coat was reciting excerpts from the Satanic Bible (!). It didn't seem like he had actually read the book very thoroughly, but his audience seemed attentive & generally pleased to be hearing such a different sort of discourse. There was some lively debate and dialogue, after all this is Portland's living room, so we sat on the steps with some young people who shared their thoughts about the controversial religious debate taking place. By the Max rail we met a 19 year old male who we'd never seen before who said he was preferring to sleep outdoors at the moment. We gave him information about the Janus Youth Shelters and showed him where he could go if he wanted services then moved on...

We headed north from Pioneer Square and found "Amy" (19) and "Sky" (22) in front of Rite Aid, where we shared a candid conversation about their escalating intravenous drug use. We also talked about safe travelling, Amy's obviously above-average intelligence, and how she might be an excellent writer or college professor someday if she can just get it together. They said they plan to ride freight trains together to New York City next week so we cautioned them about east coast heroin (commonly referred to as "china white") which is notoriously (and dangerously) stronger than most west coast heroin (commonly referred to as "black tar"). We informed them that people often overdose on "china white" when they arrive in New York and inject their usual dose of "black tar". We cautioned them that if they continue their drug use they should always use with a friend present and do a small amount to test the purity before injecting their regular dose (this is called a "tester shot"). Harm Reduction saves lives!

Under the Burnside Bridge we met three young folks who are fairly new to town and we sent them to Road Warrior [the Homeless Youth Continuum's late night drop-in). It seemed as though they had already attempted to access but could not verify their ages so we explained how Janus might be able to help them get ID's. We then ran into "Dots" (17) by the Skidmore Fountain. She's not doing well and said she has been awake for two days on meth. She occasionally stays in Porchlight Shelter but has been using heavily. When she doesn't stay at shelter she seems to camp with much older men and is possibly trading sex for drugs (based on her current associates and some of the street drama she reported). She really needs some support right now so all teams please be looking for her and let's do our best to redirect her back to shelter and case management...

Lots of outreach occured at the meal under the Burnside Bridge and along the waterfront by the Steel Bridge. Back near Old Town we met a woman calling herself "Ocean" who said she was attempting to get away from an abusive partner who pulled a knife on her earlier in the day. She said she left their Southeast Portland apartment to avoid "getting my ass beat again" and said her boyfriend was looking for her downtown. She knew about the Portland Women's Crisis Line but said all the domestic violence shelters were already full. We told her we might be able to advocate for her with the Portland Police and get her referred into an emergency bed at a local shelter and she agreed to walk with us to the Old Town cop shop. When we arrived, the officer we spoke with was rushing to the Ross Island Bridge where two people had just reportedly jumped! All we could do was hope we don't know them. We then escorted "Ocean" to the Salvation Army Female Shelter where she was able to wait inside safely while we called police non-emergency for an escort to the emergency shelter bed. It felt good knowing that we were able to get her safely indoors even if for just one night. Especially considering how frustrating domestic violence situations can be due to a lack of space at the existing programs...

On the way back to the office we met three teenage girls on the Max who had obviously just been in some sort of altercation with another young female. we struck up casual conversation and learned that all three are currently housed or "couch surfing" but they seemed very high-risk. One of them said she had dropped-out of high school and another said it was unlikely that she would make it through another year. we gave them our contact info, explained what we do and how we might be able to help. We also talked about how important it is to stay in school and just get it done now rather than going for the G.E.D. later. She said she knew but shrugged and said, "I don't know what will happen..."

Wow. Busy night!
~D & J (Sunday Night Yellow Brick Road Team)

Yellow Brick Road Volunteer Training

Thanks to everyone who responded to our upcoming homeless youth panel. THE TRAINING IS NOW FULL. Due to the high volume of R.S.V.P.'s we've received we're posting our next training opportunity way in advance. Please R.S.V.P. as soon as possible if you're interested in attending:

MENTAL HEALTH ON THE STREETS!
SUNDAY MAY 4TH
2PM-5PM

We will have a guest speaker from Kaiser share with us some common mental health symptoms we are likely to see on the streets and how we might engage with people experiencing mental health issues more effectively. We'll also discuss some basic coping skills to share share with young people dealing with mental health on the streets. Please R.S.V.P. to dlundberg@janusyouth.org

HIGHER GROUND

The National Weather Service is forecasting heavy rain in Portland this week between Wednesday and Thursday. There is also a potential for several inches of rain over the weekend. We are not expecting any serious flooding, but if you are sleeping outdoors- or know someone who is camping outdoors- please be aware and take to higher ground if necessary. We will update with Severe Weather Alerts as more information becomes available.

Feb. 3...warming stations CLOSED tonight!

Portland's Severe Weather Warming Shelters are closed tonight. Sunday is NOT a severe weather night.