Disintegration of Structures[Questions What influences or values have stabilized the community? Have these failed in recent years? Why?]FamilyThere is a growing concern in America at the disintegration of the traditional family structure. In America as a whole, 24% of all families are headed by a single parent (1990 Census). In the black families at the national level, 63% are led by single parents. Also, 69% of one-parent families rent whereas 72% of the traditional families are homeowners. The 1990 Census showed 23.8% of Portland families are led by single parents, which put Portland 31st of 46 cities for this statistic in the Census analysis. The same study also showed:
Douglas Nelson, executive directory of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, reports that nationally in 1994 24% of America's children live in families without a father present. This figure has quadrupled since 1950, where only 6% of children lived in fatherless homes. Such fatherless children, he found, were five times more likely to be poor, twice as likely to drop out of high school, and more likely to end up in foster care or juvenile justice facilities. Boys raised without fathers are much more likely to become incarcerated, unemployed, and uninvolved with their own children. There is also a loss of self-esteem, insecurity, and a lack of aspiration.(22) Young men, without fathers, do not have the educational or opportunity to succeed in today's society, and are not prepared to contribute as providers, protectors, and mentors to their children. Girls raised in single-parent families are three times more likely to become unwed teen mothers. The 1993 CIDS/Percept Report (Appendix K) indicates that 19% of all Portland families have a primary concern with teen or child problems, and 13.5% of families have a primary concern with abusive relationships. As we shall see shortly, 48% of the area households have a primary concern with drugs or alcohol abuse. There is an increasing percentage of singles in society. In the Percepts study area 50% of those 15 or older are living single. It is not unusual in mapping demographics around churches to find large pockets of singles, yet the church has very little outreach to them. Our own church faces a ministry to a large number of children who are raised by poor parenting skills and lack of values. Governments, churches, and non-profit agencies are trying to help a rising tide of children from homes broken by drugs, alcohol, and related violence. Public and private safety nets are overflowing. John S. Powell, supervisor of CSD's Multnomah County juvenile corrections unit, says Ten years ago we put a lot more kids in care for a lot less (bad) behavior on the part of the kids or the parents. In reality, there are so many families (today) who are past our ability to help them." (23)Talk to people in Oregon who work with troubled families and abused children, and you will learn the problems mount by the day. Many children need another place to live, sometimes for days, months, and some forever. Public and private nets, however, are overflowing. In American today, 50% of the children do not live in a nuclear family (both parents present), with only 25% of black children in nuclear families.(24) During the last few years the number of child deaths from abuse and neglect has risen dramatically, with Oregon reporting 33 in 1994 from 11 in 1993 (Figure H.31). The leading perpetrator is the mother or stepmother (30% of the cases) (Figure H.32). Restraining orders for domestic violence are also increasing in Oregon. Multnomah County had 1993 restraining orders filed in 1993. In 1994 through June, 1821 had been filed - an 11% increase.(25) In Washington County, the numbers went from 792 to 477 through the first half of 1994. In Clackamas County, it sent from 988 in 1993 to 592 through the first half of 1994. In the three county area if the trend continues, the 1994 increase over 1993 will be 20%. This does not necessarily mean there was more domestic violence, because today there is more visibility and awakening to the problem and it is more open. [check out above statistics for '94] In 1993, there were 11,719 children born to unwed mothers in Oregon. Of these, 32.2% were teen mothers. Nationally, births to unwed mothers rose 70% from 1983 to 1993 .(26) This is a substantial and sudden social change, weakening the dominance of the traditional family in society and its cultural power. CSD placed a daily average of 6942 children out of homes in 1993.(27) CSD (and taxpayer) financial costs vary from $13,000 to support a child in a group home to $82,000 for a child needing extensive mental care. The true cost is higher, as other programs and nonprofits subsidize some bills. Some foster homes are quitting the program because the children they are seeing now are more violent or emotionally disturbed. What evidence exists of family unit disintegration? (divorce, spousal or child abuse) GovernmentIs there governmental disintegration? (corruption, partisanship)BusinessIs there business disintegration? (layoffs, deficits) What about telecommuting, and how has this affected Portland? How has high tech affected Portland?EducationIs there educational disintegration (overcrowding, low test scores).Destructive VicesThe key destructive vices in the community are drugs (including alcohol), pornography, gambling, prostitution, and homosexuality.DrugsThe word pharmacology that we use today comes from the Greek word "pharmakia", which meant sorcery or witchcraft. This doesn't mean drugs are always bad (in fact, many times they save our lives), but it does mean drugs are often a two-edge sword. The same drug in one person may bring healing, and in another or at a different dose in the same person can bring death. Those who can prescribe drugs may feel they are as gods with the power of life and death in their hands. It is not unusual in mapping a city to discover the highest rates of certain crimes are near a "pill hill", or coalition of hospitals. There is a spiritual reason for this.Portland shares with many west coast city the distinction of being a major drug distribution center in our nation. In her excellent book about Portland, Elaine Friedman quotes a 1990 report by the Multnomah County Alcohol and Drug Program which explains why the city serves as such a major drug distribution and manufacturing center. The report says: "Portland's Pacific Rim location, access to a major waterway, and its strategic position in the middle of [the] West Coast drug pipeline are all factors that contribute to a volume of drug trafficking activity beyond that usually associated with a medium sized city and county."(28)In 1991, according to the September 8 - 11 issue of Willamette Week, "70 percent of Portland's male criminal suspects were found to be using some type of drug at the time of their arrest. "That ranked Portland "fifth among the 23 metropolitan areas surveyed, behind Manhattan, San Diego, Philadelphia, and Chicago." Portland was first in the nation for marijuana use, and second for methamphetamine use. These statistics are particularly sobering when one considers the tendency of substance abuse to feed other social ills. In Old Town (just north of Burnside), police have stepped up drug enforcement. As a result, Mayor Vera Katz says the violent crime rate in Old Town has dropped 54% since 1988. Not all business people in the area, however, agree with her assessment. Some say they see no decrease in the area's drug activity. The area is cleaned up for a while, and then it goes back to being what it was. "...The high concentration of social service agencies in the area continue to make it a one-way highway for the mentally ill and the homeless".(29) Statistics show that while the number of violent crimes reported in the area is decreasing, arrests for more common crimes have increased in recent years. Arrests for drug distribution alone increased more than 35% from 1991 to 1993, partially as a result of the stepped up enforcement of the police. Also there has been a more concentrated effort to remove the more violent offenders from the area, picking them up on lesser charges. Police do say, however, that general drug activity in the area has decreased, and crimes related to such activity (such as theft from cars), decreased 15% in the first six months of 1994. The 1993 CIDS/Percept Report (Appendix K) indicates that one in three households in the area has a primary family concern with drug abuse, and 48% (almost one in two) has a primary family concern with alcohol or drug abuse. This is approximately the same as the national average. It is no accident that several of the fastest-growing churches in the Portland area credits much of their success to their intensive involvement in helping those caught in drug and alcohol abuse and freeing them, through the Gospel, to new life. This involves staying with them after they dry out, sometimes finding homes, and discipling. Oregon eighth-graders sniff glue, spray paint, and other inhalants to get high at a rate almost double that of their classmates nationally.(30) Marijuana use among Oregon eighth graders is also higher than national rates. There is also a sizeable increase in drug use between sixth and eighth grades. The good news is that there is only a small percentage of eighth and eleventh grade students using cocaine, amphetamines, LSD, or heroin - and this is declining. Marijuana and inhalants are the significant problem. Here is a summary of the January, 1995 study by the Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs (see Figures H.33, H.34). AlcoholAlcohol use is increasing steadily among eighth graders since 1990. A January 1995 study by the Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs showed 10 percent of Oregon sixth graders, 30 percent of Oregon eighth graders and just over 40 percent of eleventh grader used alcohol in the last month.MarijuanaAlmost 10 percent of eighth graders reported using marijuana, almost double the 5.8 percent reported in 1992. Nationally, the rate is 7.8% for eighth-graders. There is very little use by sixth-graders, and one in seven of eleventh-graders.InhalantsFor eighth-graders, the reported 11 percent use is nearly double the national rate but has changed little since 1992. About 4 percent of eleventh-graders used inhalants, which is low but still higher than national figures. Inhalants appear to be the drug of choice in the lower graders due to their accessibility. By the eleventh grade, their use is eclipsed by other drugs.CigarettesOnly 6.3 percent of sixth graders reported smoking in the previous month, but this tripled by the eighth grade. About one in four eleventh-graders smoked, slightly lower than national figures. One in six Oregon eleventh-graders say they chew. Both smoking and chewing are identified today as causing multiple health problems, particularly cancer. The American Cancer Association, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association are trying to work with the legislature to make cigarette access to youth more difficult. It is already illegal to sell cigarettes to kids.LSD, Amphetamines, CocaineCocaine use among students is higher than national levels, but decreasing. Use of these hard drugs was low for all age groups and less than one percent.PornographyPortland is a hotbed of pornography and sexual vice, with more topless bars per capita than any United States city.(31). In 1989 there were 18 strip clubs in Portland. Willamette Week reported in 1993 that there were now 54 in the city, a 300% growth. Our maps shows a correlation between the location of these and the non-violent crime rate."The market's saturated; it's not what it use to be," lamented Jody Tanner, owner of a nude dancing club in northeast Portland.Detective Daryl Dick, a 26-year veteran of the Portland Police Bureau, says we (Portland) rank No. 1 nationally in the type of sexual contact we allow, in the number of businesses per capita, and in the number who participate in the industry.(32) Most of the growth is due to the 1987 State vs. Henry decision, which in turn was based on the Oregon Constitution (Article I, Section 8) which says "No law shall be passed restraining the free expression of opinion, or restricting the right to speak, or print freely on any subject whatever, but every person shall be responsible for the abuse of this right." This constitution has been around since 1859 and there is a similar clause in the constitution of other states. The difference in Oregon, however, was in a 1987 decision how the courts interpreted it. As a result, since then Portland has become the porn capital of the U.S.. Today, there are so many strip clubs in Portland that dancers find the competition hard. Dancers often live two worlds. In the outside world they may be a single mother with three kids struggling to feed the family and pay the rent, at night a dancer with an assumed name, never dating or meeting their customers. Tom Bates, an Oregon staffer, asked Linda (a local dancer) why she put up with this type of life so long. "My father was an a abusive alcoholic who told me when I was still a child I was 'crap'. I believed him."(33)The church can have tremendous power in this area without necessarily confronting in worldly terms. [Questions: What forms does pornography take in the community? Prostitution[Questions: Is casual sex prevalent? Is it acceptable? Is there a prostitution problem?Homosexuality[What is the present status of the homosexuality in the community? How does this compare with other west coast communities?]Gambling[Questions: Is there legalized gambling?] [General Questions What about Generation X and their disillusionment with the church? What is the condition of pain here? Do map of where Generation X is located in city? What role does the media have in causing or relieving pain of each type? Are three a significant number of nightclubs and dance halls? Topless bars? Is there a crime problem associated with the vices? Are there unique forms of vice in the community?] What other issues are there? Unemployment? ]Notes:
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