Recognizing Veterans

Today the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners passed a proclamation recognizing veterans. The proclamation was submitted by Commissioner Cogen in recognition of the 197 Multnomah County employees who are veterans or who are on active duty. The Board also wanted to acknowledge the contributions of all of our veterans, and to highlight the important duty we have, as a county and as a community, to warmly welcome them back and help them and their families reintegrate after their military service is over.

Below are links to two very alarming articles on homeless veterans and the challenges of reintegration. We still have a chance to get out in front of this problem, but there is no doubt that the challenge of avoiding a repeat of the Vietnam era is a huge one.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/us/08vets.html?hp

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HOMELESS_VETERANS?SITE=WWL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

This story from today's Oregonian shares some local perspective on the enormous debt we owe our veterans.

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» November 8, 2007 - 0 comments - Homeless, Human Services, Top Stories, Warren's Blog

Facing homelessness head on

From the Oregonian:

Housing plan for homeless ahead of goal
Audit - In two years, Portland moves 1,039 people and 717 families into housing

Monday, August 27, 2007

ANDY DWORKIN The Oregonian Staff

Portland's made a great start on its 10-year plan to end homelessness, putting more chronically homeless people into houses than projected, according to an audit released today.

How the city will fare in the plan's final seven-plus years is less clear, the audit said, and city officials must set more solid goals if it hopes to sustain progress -- including defining what it means to "end homelessness."

"It's very positive so far. They've set specific goals and met them," said Drummond Kahn, the city's director of audit services. "As we get further along, it's going to get more challenging" because the city's goals are cloudier and because, after first helping those more amenable to housing, the remaining homeless population may be harder to serve.

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» August 28, 2007 - 0 comments - Homeless, Human Services, News, Top Stories

Healthy Homes = Healthy Kids

“The connection between health and the dwelling of the population is one of the most important that exists.” -Florence Nightengale

What do dust-mites, cockroaches, mold and rodents have in common? Besides their respective “ick” factors, these organisms are big-time asthma triggers. The right mattress cover and a good vaccum can help eliminate dust-mites, but those other opportunistic critters can be a little harder to boot out of your home – even more so if you’re a renter without control over the root cause of the infestation.

Multnomah County’s Environmental Health Division recently hosted a Healthy Homes Summit to study the nexus between our health and our homes. Participants helped compile a laundry list of recommendations for Multnomah County and the City of Portland (the full list is after the jump) ranging from updating building codes and enforcement to reflect public health to increasing and improving landlord education.

What you think Multnomah County should do to make our homes healthier?

Read more and discuss: Healthy Homes = Healthy Kids

» July 17, 2007 - 2 comments - Children and Families, Front Page News, Homeless, Human Services, Marissa's Blog, Outer NE