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Correction to previous post: To volunteer to drive with Metropolitan Family Service, please contact Project Linkage, at 503.249.0471.

posted 4 years ago
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Many area older adults live on fixed incomes, and rely on pension and savings that have been hard hit by this year’s economic contraction. As these seniors look to the future, they are realizing that staying in their own homes or apartments is the most realistic way for them to continue to make ends meet. But that realization includes challenges.

Transportation is one of the primary challenges for older adults to remain independent. Metropolitan Family Service has seen a major increase in requests for rides over the past two years. Please call 503.331.5913 to volunteer to drive an older adult to a needed appointment once or twice a week.

posted 4 years ago
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The time is now 3 p.m.  Parents do you know where your children are?

Every weekday afternoon, children pour out of public schools all across the Portland metro area at a time when many parents are still at work. What are these kids up to, and how do parents know if the after school program that they enroll their children in provides safe, effective, educational and physical activities?

Several local counties provide after school programs right in the public school buildings. These programs like SUN and CAFE create a safe and welcoming environment with curriculums that are designed to enhance school day learning. Many of these programs are provided through grants to schools with low income populations, providing a haven from neighborhoods prone to drug dealing and gang activity. 

How do kids in these programs fare academically as well as socially compared to the general school population?

Are government funded programs more effective than for-fee after care programs provided in wealthier neighborhoods?

Are after school programs providing a way to keep more kids in school and meeting grade level?

Law enforcement agencies look at school achievement scores in determining future prison capacities. Is our society making the best use of low cost intervention tools like Head Start and after school programs to make sure fewer kids wind up in jail?

posted 4 years, 3 months ago
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