By Dan Werle, CNA Media Team

In spring 1990, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO) opened its doors to the nation’s first free-standing, community-based program committed to serving people who are low income and living with HIV.

Nearly 27 years later, the HIV Day Center continues to serve the needs of people living with HIV.

It’s located in the Ainsworth United Church of Christ building, near 29th Avenue and Ainsworth Street. According to center literature, it’s one of EMO’s HIV Services programs that strive to address basic needs of individuals living with HIV/AIDS in a manner of respect, compassion and safety.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. All services provided by the day center staff and volunteers are free, and include hot breakfasts and lunches, internet access, free Wi-Fi, laundry machines, clothing, hot showers and hygiene supplies.

Volunteer practitioners and students also provide massages, haircuts, foot care and acupuncture. Additionally, information and referral services, and knowledgeable, compassionate staff support are available to help clients access other resources available for people living with HIV.

Jesse Herbach has been with EMO’s HIV Services for the past 3½ years. He points out the core of the project is best illustrated through the intangibles clients receive at the center.

“When people are less isolated and more engaged with their peers, their health outcomes are better,” he said. “The center provides a place where people with vastly different backgrounds create strong friendships.” That takes place sharing meals, shooting pool or during the popular Monday bingo games.

People seeking services at the center often show up for just meals and clothing initially.
“What keeps them coming back are the relationships that get built,” Jesse explained. They befriend other clients, volunteers and staff members.

If you’re interested in volunteering with the HIV Day Center the Daily Bread Express, its companion program for home-delivered meals, contact Mika Mulkey at MMulkey@EMOregon.org or 503.460.3822.

Another way you can help is by participating in the Thursday, April 27, Dining Out For Life. More than 30 restaurants in the Portland metro area will donate 20 to 35 percent of each diner’s bill to HIV services in the area, including the HIV Day Center.
This year, Concordia area businesses participating include Extracto, Kennedy School, P’s & Q’s Market and Red Sauce Pizza. For a full list of participating restaurants, visit DiningOutForLife.com/portland.

Dan Werle lives in Concordia with his wife, Anna, and their dogs.

By Brian Burk, CNA Media Team
Editor’s note: The space confines of a printed newspaper limited the ability of CNews’ March issue to explore how the Sahibs are affected by recent executive orders, and how they appreciate the Concordia community’s support. Below, Brian tells you “the rest of the story.”

Reverberations from executive orders on foreign entry to the United States – commonly referred to as the “travel ban” or the “Muslim ban” – are being felt in Concordia.

Inside a former carriage house on Alberta Street, Iraqi-born Ghaith Sahib and wife, Tiffany, run DarSalam, one of two Portland restaurants they own. Dedicated not only to feeding but also educating patrons about Iraqi history and culture, the restaurant evolved from a food cart the Sahibs launched in 2011 after relocating to Portland from Amsterdam, where they had met and married. Tiffany is a Portland native and Ghaith, who left Iraq after barely surviving a 2005 car bomb attack, sought to re-establish himself in the United States. He is now a U.S. citizen.

In January an executive order was issued to restrict travel to the United States from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iraq. The order also suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days. Later, a second order was issued that removed Iraq from the list of restricted countries.

The executive orders have disrupted business and family life. A Syrian employee has been unsuccessful in bringing his wife and brother into the United States. “He has been told by organizations that, by luck, he’ll see his wife in two years,” Ghaith reported. The Sahibs also have relatives in refugee camps abroad whose immigration status is tenuous.

Ghaith’s parents are currently in Germany visiting their eldest son. Although his parents have recently become U.S. citizens, Tiffany and Ghaith are concerned there will be complications when they re-enter the country. “They speak very little English,” Tiffany pointed out. “They can’t really defend or explain themselves.”

The Sahibs moved to Portland in 2009, later joined by his parents and two of his siblings, who help at the restaurant. Not including family members, they employ about 13 people on a part-time basis at the Concordia location.

Although adjusting to life in the United States was difficult, Ghaith said he found Portland welcoming. While initially hesitant to label DarSalam an Iraqi restaurant, the Sahibs were surprised by how little this mattered to their customers. They even attracted an unexpected clientele: American veterans of the Iraq war. “They have certain nostalgia for the culture,” Tiffany said.

One such veteran is Sean Davis, commander of neighboring American Legion Post 134. “Our friendship goes back years,” said Sean, who, like Ghaith, was injured in the war. “As soon as they opened the restaurant, I went over there. Ghaith was there working every single day, so I got to know him and his parents because I spoke a little bit of Arabic.

“I respect people who work hard and I respect people who love their families,” Sean explained. “He wants to make where he lives a better place.”

“When we heard about the ban, we were shocked,” Ghaith said. “We felt worry. We felt shame. We felt like people don’t like us.” Even after the second order excluded Iraq from the list of restricted countries, his tension was not resolved. “For me it still hurts,” he said.

Amidst the national immigration controversy, the local community has rallied around DarSalam. “We love Portland,” Ghaith said. “We got support from neighbors, from friends, from customers. They tried to show us love and encourage us not to give up. It was a really good experience.”

To those who would argue the executive order is necessary for public safety, Ghaith said, “I don’t agree at all. Refugees have already had to fill out so many applications, and there have been so many security checks. Refugees have already suffered. They need help.”

The Sahibs have an energetic three-year-old named Malaika, who played with restaurant staff while her parents spoke to Concordia News.

She’s half-Iraqi and half-American,” Ghaith said. “When she grows up she’ll be proud of who she is. There are many Vietnamese refugees who have been here for 40 years, and now they have generations of kids who are doing great things. So, when it’s proposed to make the country safe by stopping refugees, this is not the answer.”

After several years of building their business, raising a young child and continuing to adjust to an evolving political landscape, the Sahibs are ready for a break. They’ll soon be travelling to Mexico for a brief vacation. Tiffany used to live in Mexico, and Ghaith is excited about introducing Malaika to a new culture.

But with their excitement comes trepidation about the final stage of the trip, according to Tiffany.

“It will be interesting to see what coming back in is like.”

Living near airport has its pluses, but neighbors want to know — can you quiet it down a bit?

By Steve Dodge

Planes, trains and automobiles. When you live in the city, it’s pretty much a given that you’re going to hear one or all of those, plus the kid with the oversize sub woofer in his car — sometimes in the middle of the night.

And, when you live near an international airport, most people figure a little noise goes along with the convenience of a short trip to catch a flight. But what happens when a little becomes a lot?

Many neighbors, judging from conversations in the neighborhood and a flood of responses to a question on Nextdoor.com, expressed concern about the noise generated from small Federal Express “cargo feeders” as the Port of Portland calls them, and the fighter jets operated by the Air National Guard.

Others wondered why the cargo planes flew so low. FedEx planes have been observed flying only slightly higher than utility poles, which Pacific Power representative estimates are 150 feet tall. In some cases the planes are so low, the plane’s belly rivets can be clearly seen.

To be fair, some residents said they actually like the National Guard jet noise, finding it comforting in these uneasy times. Others figure they moved in knowing full well they’d be near an airport.

When the planes or jets roar over, people may pause their conversations, try to comfort their kids and pets, and later straighten the pictures on the wall.

CNews sent questions to the city of Portland, FedEx, the Air National Guard and the port. Only the port responded.

Kama Simonds, aviation media relations manager, said cargo feeder approaches are designed by the Federal Aviation Administration for safety, and that a Concordia resident living a mile away should see aircraft “at or very near 300 feet.” She said pilot discretion or an order from air traffic control could explain some aircraft flying under 300 feet.

As for noise, she said, 24/7 monitoring at Concordia University for arriving small planes averages 73 decibels, which she compared to standing next to a vacuum cleaner or a truck passing outside.

Asked why propeller planes were allowed to rev their engines on the tarmac, sometimes in the wee hours of the night, she said, the small cargo planes are required to test engines at full throttle – but are not required to use sound insulating hangars. Steve is a veteran journalist, writer, editor and former Concordia Neighborhood Association board member. He has lived 17 years in the neighborhood. Contact him at CyStev33@yahoo.com.

Editor’s note: Visit ConcordiaPDX.org/port-q-a for the full list of questions asked and responses from the port, along with comments from neighbors published on Nextdoor.com.

By Daniel Greenstadt – Concordia Neighborhood Association Board Member

It seems that breaking with political and social norms has become an American trend lately, and your neighborhood association is keeping up with the times. So, beginning with this issue of Concordia News, we’re casting tradition aside and turning “Chair’s Corner” into “CNA Voices” where, instead of hearing only from the chair, we’ll offer the perspectives of Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) board and committee members.

CNA is led by many dedicated souls who show up to lead the board and to staff and support the various committees, where the real work gets done. Together with you – residents of Portland’s greatest neighborhood – we’re building a better community.

And just how much better? Well, the dawn of a new year calls for a quick review of 2016 accomplishments so we can be sure to outdo ourselves in 2017. Here are some of CNA’s community-building events:

• Spring Egg Hunt – Combine 7,000 handstuffed eggs and more than 300 children, and you get 10 minutes of the best kind of pandemonium! CNA partnered with American Legion Post 134 for this smashing success.
• Neighbor Cleanup – We netted $1,998 for CNA community programs.
• Sunday Parkways – CNA volunteers distributed 720 energy bars and gallons of water to hungry and thirsty cyclists, walkers and skaters. • Concerts in the Park – Bankrolled local business and community sponsors — and staffed and supported by CNA volunteers — we gathered some giant crowds at Fernhill Park to hear some of the best entertainment Portland offers.
• National Night Out – It featured a great children’s parade – complete with police escort – and the season’s final park concert.
• December holiday party – The food was fantastic at the HUGE party, children’s choirs were heavenly, the band was loud and attendees paid with nothing but their presence and some much needed food donations to Concordia Backpack Lunch Program. Thanks again to Cerimon House for the amazing venue.
• McMenamins Kennedy School Community Room – We earned a whopping $18,000 in rentals for CNA to reinvest in the community.
• Concordia News – We’re covering more issues, staying on schedule, reaching more people and continuing to invest in building CNews into the best neighborhood paper in the city. Our web and Facebook page made great strides too.
• Land Use & Transportation Committee – The group continues its amazing work on a wide range of topics deeply impacting life here.
• Open letter – One of the last actions of the board in 2016 was the letter you’ll see on the facing page. We want Concordia residents to feel safe and welcome here, and that’s something that requires “a village” to make happen.

Can we top all that in 2017? Let’s!