Unions and church reach out to Northeast community

By NEIL HEILPERN
Special Correspondent

PORTLAND, OR -- Efforts of union volunteers and Labor's Community Service Agency, AFL-CIO, have shifted the focus of a northeast Portland church's after-school program for kids.

Several dozen Safe Haven youngsters led their parents up the steps of Hughes Memorial United Methodist Church last Friday evening for a pizza fest and a new level of community participation.

Reverend Curtis Kirkpatrick first invited latchkey youngsters, ages 5-13, to the church's after-school center in 1993 as part of a program to turn around the drug scene in the inner-city neighborhood.

Glenn Shuck, executive director of Labor's Community Service Agency, wondered where the parents were and suggested a family dinner night might encourage the children and parents of many families to come together socially.

Shuck, a member of the church, presented the idea to Ron Fortune, executive secretary-treasurer of the Northwest Oregon Labor Council (NOLC), and got NOLC funding for the dinner. Several union members volunteered to help.

Labor's Community Service Agency is affiliated with United Way of the Columbia-Willamette and operates under the auspices of the labor council.

"I'm happy to see it get off to such a good start," said church member Mark Bradwell of Service Employees Local 49. "The Holy Spirit is moving, bringing people together in this neighborhood."

When Reverend Kirkpatrick asked the families if they would like to have a dinner every Friday night, they roared their approval.

"As a mother, I think this is good," said Cheryl Brookins. "I'm glad the church is involved in the neighborhood, and the children can depend on the church as a safe haven."

Brookins and her husband, Harold, are members of Communications Workers of America. "This is typical of labor," said Harold, "to be community-involved."

Safe Haven started as a spin-off from a community outreach effort called Recovery of Hope, a drug and alcohol abuse rehabilitation program.