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In leading a city for transformation, you need to detail the outward evidence of spiritual darkness in the community. Start with the conditions of pain: injustice, poverty, violence, and disease. Show time lines. Next look at disintegration of social values and structures (evidenced by symptoms such as corruption and divorce). Third, look at destructive vices such as intoxication and sexual immorality. Finally, look at troubling trends. Project to the future. You need these starting benchmarks or otherwise, as Bob Becket says of his work in Hemett, California, you'll get discouraged at the difficulty of seeing change at the beginning. Note: This version is without charts and maps and was done in the mid-90's. There has been no funding for further research. References for the number codes are at the end of Part 2. For I will restore you to health and I will heal you of your wounds," declares the Lord.Jeremiah 30:17 Conditions of PainThe key conditions of pain in Portland are violence, poverty, injustice, and disease.ViolenceThe primary conditioning evidences of violence include homicides, burglary, and gangs. Portland crime statistics have remained virtually unchanged over the last few years (no change even with the 1992 Billy Graham crusade).For crime statistical tracking, data is maintained and reported by neighborhood. The Portland neighborhoods, in turn, are divided into districts.The Inner NE neighborhood district has the highest rate of violent crime, the highest number of murders, and the highest rate of robberies of all districts. This has been true in 1992, 1993, and 1994. In addition, the highest rate of crime increase from 1992 to 1994 is in this same district. This inner NE district has the following characteristics
In 1994 there was an Oregonian survey on services measured of 4000 Portland residents. The Inner NE rates the lowest by residents with only 70% of the residents rating their neighborhood as "safe" or "very safe" during the day. This compares with a Percepts analysis of the area for a church that showed 40% of the households were primarily concerned with neighborhood crime and safety. The Oregon Health Division surveyed 2620 students in 44 high schools across the state in 1993 in the past 30 days 51.5% of the males and 13.2% of the females carried a gun, knife, or club to school at least one day.(1) Here are some comments from Portland students from this Oregonian article: "One day, my little brother was playing in our yard. Two men with guns started shooting at each other. My mom was so scared that she didn't care if she was shot. She just wanted to get my brother in the house." Sharon Hamann, 13, Whitaker Middle School, Northeast Portland "We were reading the newspaper one day and my friend said, 'Remember Willie?" I said, 'Yeah.' He said 'He's in the newspaper.' I said, 'Give it to me.' And it was the obituary section. Willie Dunn Robinson. Funeral will be at 11 a.m. July 28, 1994, In Albina Church of God. Mr. Robinson died from a gunshot wound. He was 18." Robert H. Johnson, 14, Southeast PortlandThe Juvenile violent crime arrest rate, ages 10-17 (per 100,000) in 1985 was 234 in Oregon versus 305 nationally. In 1991 this was 280 versus 457 nationally. This Oregon increase is 20% over the six-year period. The teen (15-19) violent death rate in Oregon was 73.3 in 1985 versus 62.8 nationally. In 1991 this was 68.2 versus 71.1 nationally(2) The prison population in Oregon was around 7200 as of April of 1995. The funded prison capacity is 6517, which means strategies are already necessary to accommodate the additional inmates. Measure 11 that was recently passed and the public's increasing concern about crime means stiffer prison sentences, and the most recent forecast indicates a resulting 11,427 inmates by July 1, 1997. This means more money must be spend for prisons and corrections. The prison population is still overwhelmingly white (74%). The incarceration of society is also increasing. From 1984 to 1993, the incarceration rate for whites increased from 116 to 100,000 nationally to 203. During this same time, the rate for blacks increased from 723 to 1432 nationally (doubling). There is also an increase in the get-tough laws, which will further accelerate this increase.(3) A recent task force has report that the institutional system is two-tiered, with one system for the whites and another for the minorities.(4) Minorities receive a much more biased ruling: more likely charged with various offenses, less likely to be released on bail, and more likely to be convicted. Minorities also received harsher sentences and are less likely to be released on probation. HomicidesThe U.S. homicide rate has stabilized in the past few years, and adult homicides have actually declined 20% since 1985. The bad news is that the U.S. homicide rate among teenagers has doubled in the last ten years.(5) The rate of homicides committed by 18 to 24 year olds has increased 65% since 1985. Murder now reaches down to a much younger age group. The murder rate among 14 to 17 year olds has increased 165% since 1985.There are approximately 50 reported homicides each year in metro Portland. Nineteen-ninety was a low year with only 33 murders, 16 of them gang-related. The year 1993 (the year following the crusade) was particularly violent, with 63 homicides. The Oregonian (January 9, 1994) ran a feature article titled 1993 The Homicide Year. In 1994 the number of homicides dropped back to 50. The highest rates were in the area of the Culley neighborhood and (NE) and King and Humboldt neighborhoods (Inner NE, the site of the 1995 March for Jesus). [Got a problem here in that the Oregonian statistics (63) don't match those of the Police Bureau. What gives?] This homicide reporting does not cover abortions, another type of violent homicide. In 1980 Oregon medical centers reported performing 15,585 abortions statewide.(6) This would be a rate of 25.1 abortions for every 1000 women aged 15 to 44. In 1987 this had dropped to 17.5, and in 1992 there were 12,594 abortions reported, or a rate of 18.8. Nationally, the rate is 25.9 for every 1000 women.(7) About 27 of every 1000 pregnancies ends in abortion. Whereas this number is declining both in Oregon and nationally (in part due to the greater social acceptance of unwed mothers), the statistic is still shameful and provokes a just God's wrath and judgement on not only the woman, but the family, the city, and the church. There are five common roots that lead to abortion: lust, love of comfort, the love of money, rejection, and unbelief:(8) Lust - which drove the irresponsible conception Love of comfort - because the decision to abort is often to avoid the discomfort of the pregnancy Love of money - because of the desire to save money at the expense of a life Rejection - because of the woman's fear of rejection by society or the boyfriend (or husband) if she fails to abort Unbelief - because there is a lack of faith in a just God who will honor the decision not to abort BurglaryOregon led the nation in bank robberies per capita in 1988. According to a June 27, 1989 New York Times article, "Portland, with a population of 388,000, reported 238 bank robberies in 1988. That is 200 more than Chicago,...193 more than Atlanta...and 143 more than Detroit."The number of residential burglaries in the greater Portland area shows a similar pattern year after year. As Figure H.24 shows, some neighborhoods are considerable safer than others in this respect. The Inner NE area heads the list for highest rate of residential burglaries. Car theft is another of the crimes which puts Portland "on the map". In 1991, 6,593 cars were stolen in the City of Portland alone. This translates to an astonishing 18 robberies per day, without even considering the cars stolen in the rest of the larger metropolitan area. Figure H.25 shows the increase through the years. In 1994 there were 9464 auto thefts, an 18% jump over 1992. The largest number of auto thefts was in the outer SE area.
GangsIn his History of Portland, Gordon DeMarco reports that "gangs moved into north and northeast Portland in 1987-1988 in a big way".(9) In 1991 the Portland Police Bureau's Gang Enforcement Team"estimated that the number of gang members in Portland was close to 2,000. Most are Bloods or Crips, but there are also Asian gangs, Hispanic gangs, and white supremacist groups."(10)The CIDS/Percept Report showed that 14.9 percent of the Portland area households have a primary concern with gang activity, which is 115% of the national average for the statistic. It is the primary household community concern in the Portland area. Gang shootings increase every year. Police reported 189 gang-related shootings in 1989, and 206 in 1990. Officials from the Gang Enforcement Team believe that there are drive- by shootings--in which someone may or may not be injured-- nearly every night in Portland.
PovertyThe primary poverty issues in Portland include homelessness and economic disparity. From the Oregonian of February 2, 1995:
The downtown neighborhood district is the highest center of poverty (due to Old Town and Burnside residents) in the city, with almost 40% of the households living below federal poverty level. The inner NE is right behind with almost 25% of the households living below federal poverty levels.
HomelessnessWhen the LOVE, INC clearinghouse operated after the Crusade to match needs to resources, the number one call that was the most difficult to meet was the problem of homelessness. There simply was not enough shelters for the number of calls received at the clearinghouse. The problem is not just with the unemployed, but those who are underemployed or receive little income. It is becoming harder and harder to find housing in the price range of many families. In 1980 in Clackamas county, three-fourths of the apartments rented for less than $400 a month. By 1990, fewer than a third were available at the price, and wages hadn't risen at the same rate.(11) Low income citizens are pushed aside as the economy expands. About 800 people are on a closed waiting list for 570 units of public housing, with the wait about 1 1/2 years. About 1700 people are waiting for 1200 available vouchers for rent assistance. The wait here is two years. The median rent is $472, up from $290 in 1980. An estimated 3000 people are homeless in Clackamas County.(12)It is difficult to determine how many people suffer from homelessness in greater Portland. The majority of homeless people in the area fall in Multnomah County, which experts suggest contains between 17,000 and 20,000 such people annually. According to the Oregon Shelter Network, between 1700 and 1800 people are homeless on any given night in greater Portland. Many of the homeless are women and children. More than 40,000 women called shelters or crisis lines in 1991. Estimates for children indicate that between 1500 and 2000 children and youths were homeless in 1991. In spite of all that government and church organizations are doing, Multnomah County Officials believe that only 1 in 6 victims is ever served by the system.(13) Beneath the streets of the Burnside area and even south of Burnside there still exists a maze of tunnels built in the days when men were shanghaied to ships. These tunnels have become homes for the homeless. When "working" the streets and providing food and clothing from a park base, you must first spread the word to the homeless you find on the streets, realizing this is only the tip of the iceberg. Then you must give an hour or so of time for the word to trickle down to those below the streets in the tunnels before you can start the food and clothing ministry from the park. Economic DisparityIn a recent article about a visit to Portland,(14) Jan Morris uses the invisible boundary of Burnside Street as a parable to describe greater Portland and, for that matter, the human condition in modern America. Morris begins by recounting an enjoyable stroll about town."The blocks are unusually short in Portland, making for pleasant serendipity; the architecture is mostly genial; there are plenty of coffee shops..Travel is free on the downtown system, and what with the cleanness and sensibleness of everything, the evident prosperity and the prospect of a late lunch at the Heathman I thought what a lesson in civility Portland, Oregon offered the world at large."But then she crossed Burnside. "Following the tourist signs toward the Old Town District and Chinatown, and expecting the usual harmless flummery of restored gas-lamps and dragon-gates, I crossed Burnside Street and found myself in a corner of hell. Suddenly, all around me were the people of Outer America, flat out on the sidewalk, propped up against the walls, sitting on the steps, some apparently drugged, some evidently about to vomit and nearly all of them, it occurred to me, idly wondering whether it was worthwhile to mug me as I passed. They were of all ages and several colors. They did not look exactly hostile, or even despairing, but simply stupefied, as though life and history had condemned them to permanent poverty-stricken sedation.The gap represented by Burnside is wide, and, many think, widening. This is the paradox of Portland. It is repeatedly voted one of the most liveable cities in the land, and if you are in the right neighborhood, it undoubtedly is. But then there's the other side of Burnside, a dismal place where ignorance, want and misery scream to be heard. InjusticeDawson in Healing America's Wounds says:"injustice opens the door for demonic oppression. An oppression that people are powerless to deal with outside of the cleansing, healing Grace of God." (15)Billy Graham has said that "Racial and ethnic hostility is the foremost social problem facing our world today.... The issues that face us are complex and enormous, and simply wishing they would go away will not solve them.... Let those of us who claim the name of Christ repent of our past failures and, relying on the Holy spirit, demonstrate to a weary and frightened world that Christ indeed 'has destroyed the barrier, dividing the wall of hostility.....through the cross....' (Ephesians 2:14- 15)(16) Native AmericansLeading the trail of injustice is the treatment of the Native Americans. More than 300 treaties with the Native Americans have been violated.(17)"Cursed is he who moves his neighbor's boundary mark."Deuteronomy 27:17 In the Indian's world view, one does not own the land. Rather, it is available to all but requires stewardship. The white man's concept of buying and selling land is foreign to the Indian's world view. From their perspective, we did not steal the land, but neither can we strip land they used of resources and pay the Indian for doing this (see Appendix A). Our taking of the land and using it for profit is a grave injustice to the Indian. In their view, the stewardship of the (often sacred) land has been violated. "Our responsibility - and our opportunities- are greater than ever before. Native Americans are the fastest growing segment of our population today. They need our encouragement and friendship now more than ever before. And, in spite of a history of injustice, the majority are still open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ."(18) Blacks[Work with local black leaders to define black cultural paradigm, history, and then insert to Appendix B with summary here.]YouthThe youth of today are the children of the materialistic baby boomers. They have inherited the failed systems of their parents with the high federal debt, environmental catastrophes, and lack of values. Often both parents work and there is little discipline or parenting skills. Fifty percent of the youth are from broken homes with a high incident of dysfunctionality. These youth have no trust in authority figures. Figure H.29 shows the characteristics of this generation, and Map 2.6 shows their location in Portland. Portland has a large number of homeless youth. [get statistics here>DiseasesThe key health issues in Portland are AIDS, health care delivery, and the mentally ill.AIDS[add here]Health Care DeliveryThe 1993 CIDS/Percept Ethos analysis (see Appendix K) showed that 40% of the area households had a primary concern with maintaining personal health, and 42% had a primary concern with finding adequate health care. This is approximately the same as the national average. Providing adequate health care continues to be a major crisis in the area and the nation.The Mentally IllDuring the four months ending in August of 1994, there were six violent incidents involving mentally ill people in which the police had to shoot. Five of these mentally handicapped people died as a result. In previous years such challenged people were put in hospitals and cared for by professionals. Now they are released to the streets, sometimes with medicine to control the problem but with little discipline to use the medicine or much acceptance by society. [Questions: What is the most prevalent form of suffering in the community? (Examples: Injustice, poverty, homelessness, violence, disease) Why is the condition so prevalent? What other types of pain exist? ( Examples: Injustice, poverty, homelessness, violence, disease) How widespread are these problems? How long have they existed? When did they start? How do these compare in type and magnitude with those in surrounding areas? Is there a unique condition to Portland? Why?]The ElderlyThe elderly in Portland have pain from all of the previously defined areas: violence, poverty, injustice, and disease. Oregon has a particularly drawing interest for retirees, and the population distribution of the state is aging faster than the U.S. population as a whole.(19)In 1994, Oregon's median age was the fourth highest in the nation. Only Florida, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania have older populations.20 According to U.S. Census figures of July 1, 1994 Oregon's median age was 35.8 versus the 26.7 of Utah, the state with the lowest. Oregon's rating is also getting higher, and has moved from ninth in 1970, to 13th in 1980, to its present fourth place. This means the problems and changes associated with the older culture (poverty, health, injustice, violence) are arriving faster in Oregon. The elderly population itself is also aging, with the over 85 showing the most rapid growth.(21) Oregon's 85+ population is projected to more than triple by 2030, which will cause increasing economic and health systems pressure. Figure H.30 shows the projections of the growth of the elderly population. In 1990, those 65 and older represented 13.8% of the population versus the 11.5% of the population in 1980. During this decade the number of elderly in the state grew by 28.9%, whereas the population only grew by 7.9% (versus 22.5% and 9.8% for the nation). A part of this was due to the poor economic climate in the early eighties, which limited the in-migration to the state of the non-elderly as well as increasing the out-migration of the non-elderly group. At the same time, this economic depression had little affect on the elderly migration. Then later, in the late 1980s and 1990s, retirees from California cities began flooding Oregon. They often arrived with money from the sale of their high-priced homes, bidding up the price of housing in Oregon. Here are some general statistics on the elderly in Oregon:
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