trans•form
v. trænsˈfɔrm; n. ˈtræns fɔrmShow Spelled [v. trans-fawrm; n. trans-fawrm] verb (used with object)
1. to change in form, appearance, or structure; metamorphose.
2. to change in condition, nature, or character; convert

Randi, age 34, has been working to transform everything in her life since her clean date of December 22, 2010. Everything in her story – before and after recovery – is a depiction of determination and stunning contrasts.

Family

Before: Randi spent her early years growing up in an abusive home where drug use was the norm. She left at age 13 and was homeless for 6 years, into drugs and the crimes that go along with them. She re-connected to her dad and step-mom at age 19. Even she could see that they wanted to be there for her but it was such a foreign feeling that she flitted in and out of their lives, never sure how to handle their genuine concern. In prison in 2004, she realized she was pregnant. Getting out of prison as a single mom was not easy. She went to Central City Concern’s residential treatment facility for pregnant/parenting moms in 2008 and did ok for a good while. Her son was a motivation – she wanted to be a good mom. She stayed clean for five years, held a job, got her own place and her son back from DHS. In 2010 though, she relapsed and rapidly lost everything. She was ready for a true change.

After: Randi surprised her dad and step mom by asking them if they could take her son for a while so that she could check into treatment. It was an expression of trust that gave her parents hope. Maybe things would be better this time. Today, she drops in frequently. She has a close and strong relationship with her 9-year-old son. He gets to play with his cousins regularly. She joins in the monthly girl time her step mom gently urges with all her daughters. Last year, Randi invited everyone over for Thanksgiving dinner.

in photo from left: Randi's dad Lewis, Randi, her mom Lori and son Cole in center.

Housing

Before: After prison, Randi slept on a lot of couches and in a lot of motels. It didn’t help her potential for lasting recovery. She didn’t have true friends and she never stayed long anywhere. She would breeze through her parents’ house sometimes and eat a little. Then, be gone again.

After: Today, Randi lives in Central City Concern’s family housing that is a supportive environment for families in recovery. She has many peers who she relies on as well as a parent mentor who coaches her through the rough spots with grace and humor. Her son has seized many rich opportunities there, like basketball camp with the Blazers, and Easter egg hunts on the central lawn. He relishes having his own room, chores, responsibilities, pride and most importantly, security that his mom will be there in the morning. Every morning.

Self-Sufficiency

Before: Dealing drugs paid for a place to sleep on most nights and after Randi first got clean, she worked for a while at a fast-food restaurant. Her high school years were fractured so she got her GED in prison. She didn’t have a vision for what she might do in the work world.

After: Randi is on the dean’s list at the local community college. Soon, she’ll transfer to a four-year college and she aims for a BA in criminal justice. A self-sufficiency program manager at Central City Concern helped her get a driver’s license again and connected her to meaningful employment. For the past seven months, she has worked full-time for a county reentry program specifically for women. She has a caseload of about 26 women. Her work is a daily reminder of how far she has come. She is really good at what she does. Parole officers now seek out her advice. She is strong and confident and does everything in her power to bring the same to others. She is changed.

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On October 12th in Downtown Portland, the Clean and Safe District, managed by Portland Business Alliance, honored Roy Carter as Outstanding Clean & Safe Cleaner. Ralph Lawrence was announced as this year’s Outstanding Clean & Safe Security Officer. Emily Flint, General Manager of Macy's, was awarded the 2012 Downtown Retailer award, while Mayor Sam Adams was recognized as the 2012 Downtown Champion.

Roy and Mayor Sam Adams are pictured below. Roy Carter boldly demonstrates some of tasks required for his position as an employee of Central City Concern and the Downtown Clean & Safe program. He moves his arms, clasps his hands, and shifts his eyes with supreme confidence, competence, and purpose. “It’s all about what I’m doing today,” he says. “If I’m out there [on the sidewalks], I’m working hard.”

Less than a year ago, Carter found himself outside of incarceration for the first time in ten years. Society had changed drastically without him. Roy says he “promised myself to live a better way” once he got out, but “the way people looked for work and the way companies hired had changed; my past scared me away from applying for jobs.”

Roy became a regular at CCC’s Employment Access Center (EAC), where he dived into classes that helped him retool his resume, write cover letters, and sharpen his interview skills. He was then referred to CCC’s Community Volunteer Corps (CVC), volunteering 80 hours of his time at local nonprofits and building soft skills in the process. Opportunities to do positive work, Roy says, “filled me with self-worth. It felt so good.”

As a result of his exemplary work with CVC, Roy ultimately found employment with the Clean & Safe program.  For five months, Roy pushed a cleaning cart along Fifth and Sixth Avenues of Downtown Portland. He showed up on days he wasn’t scheduled to demonstrate his dedication. He showed kindness to everyone he encountered. Business owners along his streets praised Roy’s work, many saying that the streets had never been so clean.

Six months ago, Roy heard of an opportunity to apply for the Special Project Bike Operator position. Just a few months prior, he was scared away from applying to jobs because of his past; now, Roy set out to secure this position. He credits his time with EAC and CVC for giving him the confidence to acknowledge that he could, in fact, be a valuable employee. “I was able to accept who I was in the past, but also that this,” he says while pointing to his heart, “is who I am now, and this is who I want to be.”

To no one’s surprise, Roy secured the full-time position. He now looks over a much-wider section of Downtown. He is called upon to respond quickly by bike to sensitive, sometimes dangerous, issues, and has a perfect record of responding to calls in less than 30 minutes. Members of the community and business leaders commend Roy’s effectiveness, expertise and attitude.

Roy has played a significant role in increasing the visibility of the Clean & Safe program in the community, and he continues to look forward. “It makes my heart really big to have others notice what I do,” Roy says. “I spent a lot of time taking away, but now I have a chance to give back and contribute.”

Roy continues, “Others saw that I really wanted to change. They gave me a chance to change.” Now he finds purpose, confidence, and self-worth in changing his neighborhood block by block, day by day, all for the better.

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On Friday May 18, Central City Concern’s Downtown Clean & Safe presented the Clever Cycle at the Ride Your Bike to Work Day event held at the US Bancorp building.

The Clever Cycle is a unique tricycle that will be used in addition to the Clean & Safe’s truck to pick up biohazards within the 213-block area of downtown where Clean & Safe operates. The Clever Cycle is equipped with a large tank, powered by a battery that allows for the quick removal of these biohazards. Previously, it took the Clean & Safe workers approximately 45 minutes to answer a dispatch call due to traffic congestion. By introducing the Clever Cycle, Clean & Safe hopes to cut down on these response times to 30 minutes or less. This project will result in quick cleanup of biohazards and safety improvement in the downtown area.

Matthew Smiley, CCC’s program manager of Clean & Safe, is excited about the project. “By adding this position it allows for one of our trainees to gain a full-time job, and look forward to becoming self sufficient. Having a special project bike that provides speedy bio-hazard clean ups allows for a clean, and welcoming Central City for tourist and the general public.”

Marcus Marchand, Sidewalk Ambassador for Downtown Clean & Safe, displayed another unique bicycle at the event, the bicycle kiosk, which was introduced in 2009 and carries information for visitors. Marchand is thrilled about the new Clever Cycle and thinks it will help make Portland safer and more appealing to tourists. And in the spirit of Ride Your Bike to Work Day, he is excited about the City’s ability to introduce bicycles into many types of industries.

Downtown Clean & Safe is a Portland Business Alliance program that keeps the downtown area clean and safe, contributes to efforts to create more jobs, with benefits and helps individuals re-enter the workforce.

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When Central City Concern gave me housing, healthcare, and addiction treatment services, they didn’t change the world. But for my daughter and me, the whole world changed.

In December 2006 I was pregnant, homeless, and addicted to drugs and alcohol. I wasn’t feeling very merry or bright about the approaching holidays.

The gift I wanted more than anything? Change. And I wanted it desperately.

A friend told me about the Letty Owings Center, a program run by Central City Concern that provides housing and healthcare for pregnant women who are homeless and struggling with addiction. I got in, and by March 2007, I was clean and sober. For the first time in a long time, I was living in a safe, stable, supportive environment surrounded by people who wanted me to succeed. In August 2007, I gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

In April 2008, I moved out of the Letty Owings Center and into Central City Concern’s alcohol- and drug-free family housing. Over the next three years, Central City Concern gave me the support I needed to stay sober through their Recovery Mentor Program, get job training through their Supported Employment program, and be a good mom.

Central City Concern gave me the gift of change I so desperately wanted five years ago. Now my daughter and I have our own place. I have a job that I love and I’m off all public assistance. And this year, I’m looking forward to the holidays.

I am so grateful for the support I received from Central City Concern. But I know there are hundreds of people out there who are still struggling like I once did. This holiday season, you can help by supporting Central City Concern with a gift of $500, $250, $100, or whatever you can afford. To make your gift on our secure, online server, click here.

Please make that gift today. The need for your support has never been greater.

 

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Central City Concern brought an array of service to Salina Perez -- beginning with Letty Owings Center and Alcohol/Drug-Free Family Housing to Supported Employment services. See how we never gave up on Salina and how far she has come.  (This video was shared at our annual Working Our Way Home luncheon.)

http://www.youtube.com/centralcityconcern#p/a/u/0/uJBe4t1HfU0

 

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Thank you for visiting this website to learn more about how Central City Concern helped me turn my life around.

Arrogant, unstable, unwilling to change.

High school dropout. Cocaine addict. Hustler and thief.

Chronically homeless. A drain on society.

That’s how I’d describe myself up until Thanksgiving 2008, when Central City Concern gave me one more chance to turn my life around.

I’d run away from home at age 10 and starting using drugs at about the same time. Between the ages of 12 and 44, I’d been arrested almost 200 times—126 times in Portland, alone. I’d spent 32 years living on the streets, been through four rehabs, and made countless trips to jail.

I was exhausted. And I was ready for something different.

I first became a client of Central City Concern in the Fall of 2006. CCC offered me a safe place to live and a case manager to help me get pointed in the right direction. I wasn’t particularly grateful for the help, at first. In fact, I continued to cause trouble for two more years. But Central City Concern never gave up on me.

In March 2009, I got a room at The Estate, one of several CCC buildings dedicated to housing people who are newly engaged in treatment and recovery. Shortly thereafter, I was hired on as a “barrel pusher” for the Clean & Safe program, where I started to gain job skills and earn a reputation as a dependable employee. I worked my way up, becoming a janitor through CCC’s Business Enterprises program.

Now I’m the Weekend Supervisor for the Clean & Safe program, a father to my children, and a mentor to other addicts struggling to get clean and off the streets. I’ve got my driver’s license, I’ve paid off my debts, and I’m planning on enrolling in community college so I can continue to advance professionally.

None of this would be happening for me without Central City Concern. I’m in the mainstream for the first time in my life.

I know there are countless other people out there like me who still need help. On any given night, approximately 2,500 adults—some with young children—are sleeping in shelters or doorways in the City of Portland. Nearly all of them are suffering from mental health problems, alcoholism or drug addiction. Some are victims of domestic violence. Some are military veterans with PTSD. Some have had experience with the legal system.

They all deserve the same chance I got to get on their feet.

That’s why I’m asking you to make a donation today to Central City Concern of $250, $100, $50, or whatever you can afford. You can click here to do so.

Thank you very much for supporting Central City Concern and giving others like me the chance to turn their lives around, too.

Sincerely,

Darrell W.

P.S.: For more information on who is homeless and why, please visit the National Alliance to End Homelessness website’s FAQ page.

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at left: Selena, happy customer employed (and promoted) at Burgerville with her supervisor
Daniel Cogan.

I want to congratulate the 200+ individuals who turned out Wednesday night at City Hall to celebrate the accomplishments of the 460 customers of the Employment Access Center (EAC) who became employed in 2010.  Customers were placed in jobs across 15 different sectors in 53 zip codes with an average hourly wage of $13.46. 


above: David Wynde at left, Rachel Beaudoin in center with her supervisor and manager from U.S. Bank

It was a remarkable event that was organized and orchestrated by the entire team of 24 staff at the EAC and Kathy Pape.  Ed Blackburn, Commissioner Nick Fish , Mayor Sam Adams, Customer Walter Ryce, Customer Rachel Beaudoin and U.S. Bank Employer and Vice President David Wynde all spoke so beautifully about the importance of employment in recovery and ending homelessness. 

Jennifer Wilcox then handed out 91 graduation and outstanding achievement certificates after which everyone enjoyed a large spread provided by VOA’s food services.  May next year be as bright as 2010!

Rachel Post
Director of Supportive Housing and Employment
Central City Concern

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Recently, Central City Concern grieves the loss of a very special friend, Hal Saltzman. From the beginning, Hal was part of the family. When we weren’t discussing Central City Concern’s Veterans programs, we discussed local and national politics, sports and, of course, family. Hal is survived by Ruth, his wonderful wife and best friend of 57 years, and four children, Debbi, Cindy, Stephen and David. Although Hal was a successful businessperson, professional pitcher, Marine captain who served twice (once in World War II and the Korean War) and dedicated civic leader, family was his first priority.

His many values, and order of those values, were always reflected in our conversations. The last time Hal and I spoke on the phone, he asked me the same five questions he always asked:

What’s new at Central City Concern?

How are you?

How is the running?

How is your boyfriend?

Do you have “plans” (insinuating marriage, of course)?

He always began with business, and ended with family. All of it was important to Hal.
Hal was an extraordinary person with deep character who positively impacted lives. At Hal’s memorial service, various loved ones spoke about Hal’s compassion, strength and upstanding moral character, all of which affected his family members and friends. One man said Hal was his mentor for over a decade, and it was from Hal who he received the soundest advice. Hal Saltzman created, and hosted, Central City Concern’s Veterans’ Celebration Picnic held in June these past few years.  On average, 100 Veterans representing over 300 years of military experience, attended the picnic. The Veterans enjoyed a picnic lunch and music from the 60s and 70s performed by The Shwing Daddies. It was an opportunity for everyone involved to stop and appreciate the individuals who have done so much to protect our country and freedom, some at a high expense. Hal reminded us of what was truly important, and he lead by example.

Success is defined in many ways. Hal was an incredibly successful person, and not because he always “won.” Like everyone, Hal suffered his own hardships. However, he handled the ups and downs of life with a grace that few can claim. He embodied an optimistic yet realistic spirit, compassion for others and drive to be the best form of himself, whatever the task or goal. The following Ralph Waldo Emerson quote reminds me of Hal. It reads:

“To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.  This is to have succeeded!”

If the terms in Emerson’s quote are the barometer, Hal was an outstanding success. He will be gravely missed by Central City Concern. He was a teammate, leader, strategist, volunteer, donor, advisor and friend.

The world is indeed better because of you, Hal. Thank you for your many enduring gifts. 

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Last Thursday we spent the day at the Hollywood Senior Center, where we are always greeted with smiles. The first thing I noticed was the exercise class that was going on in the big area. It was nice to see seniors taking care of themselves.

We were able to help the Center with their holiday set-up. They had a party to get ready for and we were there to make sure the place was ready. We trimmed the tree and hung decorations throughout the Center. We were able to help with every request. I organized things in their Thrift Store while others cleaned the kitchen, cleared leaves off the roof, cleaned up outside, organized magazine racks, and did general clean-up.

You could tell that the seniors really appreciated the help. They always interact with everyone and seem to enjoy our group’s age range. When we left they were extremely thankful.

I think we made their day. That’s what Community Volunteer Corps is about – giving to all.

Chris O.

Community Volunteer Corps provides meaningful volunteer opportunities to people in CCC housing. Over a three-month period, participants volunteer for 80 hours learning new skills, improving work habits and preparing themselves for permanent work. Successful completion earns people a small stipend, a letter of recommendation, a graduation ceremony and connection to CCC’s Employment Access Center services.

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Fifteen staff members (plus a consultant and the bus driver!) from  North joined the Community Volunteer Corps (CVC) team at the ReBuilding Center on Friday, December 10th.  CVC provides meaningful volunteer opportunities to CCC clients. Over a three-month period, they volunteer for 80 hours learning new skills, improving work habits and preparing themselves for permanent work. The program recently surpassed 16,000 hours of service to community.

Click the photo gallery for more images from the afternoon.

For the past three years, North, a Portland ad agency, has opted to do a half-day service project instead of a lavish holiday party. Working with CVC participants, the volunteers transferred huge piles of wood siding and  moved dozens of sinks onto new shelving at theReBuilding Center.

“It was great having North join us,” said Adrienne Karecki, Director of CCC’s Business Enterprises that operates the CVC program. “We love seeing local businesses engaged in community service over the holidays.  The ReBuilding Center is one of our many non-profit partners and we were delighted to give them an extra dose of help this month.”

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