March 30, 2025 • 30 mins
A bill in the Oregon Legislature would improve the Emergency Medical System. Empty nesters need help and can help their children who are leaving. Banning the use of cell phones in schools. Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Portland.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to local voices. I'm brad Ford this week, improving
Oregon's emergency medical services system, helping parents who will soon
become empty nesters, cell phones could be banned from all
schools in Oregon, and how the Boys and Girls clubs
are helping kids locally. EMS providers emergency medical services like
(00:24):
paramedics and ambulances are struggling to meet demand across Oregon.
A bill in the legislature seeks to create a long
term solution and a short term fix. State Representative Dacia
Graber explains the problem when I'm not.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
A legislator, I'm a firefighter and paramedic, and please take
it from me when I say that our emergency medical
services are in crisis. In the day to day lives
of Oregonians, this particular workforce and funding issue is acutely
being felt. In twenty twenty two, a regional survey of
twenty one Oregon EMS agencies revealed one hundred and fifty
eight vacancies for paramedics and eighty four vacancies for EMTs.
(00:59):
From this Snopshete and Mulnoma County ambulances were recorded arriving
late to medical emergencies about twenty eight percent of the
time over a six month period, which providers chalk up
in part to a nationwide paramedic staffing shortage, and as
of just this month, Oregon EMS providers have been attempting
to bring in paramedics from as far away as Australia
(01:21):
just to provide some measure of relief. Within this year,
the two count of two EMS volunteers in Fossil have retired,
leaving that area of Oregon with no dedicated ambulance covered
except what can be covered by neighboring communities and air
ambly air ambulances, which are very expensive. Nowhere is this
issue more acutely felt than our rural and frontier regions.
(01:43):
Wheeler County, as an example, has no hospital and transport
to the closest hospital from the county seat is sixty
five and a half miles or a one hour and
thirty one minute drive on secondary roads in good weather.
Oregon's largest county, Harney, has a single ASA that's an
ambulance service provider area with fifteen staff and four ambulances
(02:04):
to cover ten thousand plus square miles. In twenty twenty four,
the Office of Rural Health did a survey of Oregon's
rural and frontier EMS agencies. The results showed the top
resources as the resource needs as number one equipment eighty
seven point one percent, with most rural and remote EMS
agencies reporting the need to fundraise to purchase equipment, so
(02:24):
folks were having bake sales for ambulances and life saving equipment.
Workforce recruitment and retention sixty four percent. Only eighteen percent
of rural and remote EMS agencies report adequate staffing for
one hundred percent of the emergency calls they receive initial
and incumbent EMS staff training, primarily due to the inaccessible
location or cost off trainings, and lack of billing or
(02:47):
coding training and resources needed to maximize billing for EMS services.
In addition, data from the Oregon Health Authority EMS Licensing
Survey shows that many rural EMS agencies experience operational operational vulnerabils.
Twenty four percent of rule and fifteen percent of remote
agencies are in danger of service suspension. A full quarter
are on the precipice of no service, of no one
(03:10):
of calling nine to one one, and no one is coming.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Graber brought together a work group of fifty people from
the EMS industry to find solutions. One plan is to
create an EMS mobilization plan.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
You may be familiar with our fire mobilization plan, which
allows for firefighting resources to be easily redistributed around the
state in times of heightened need. And this is the
exact same premise, so focused on an EMS equivalent. So,
for example, we pre mobilize sources when we know we
have a big storm coming in. I like to think
of this as the pre mobilization. If Taylor Swift decides
to play and bend for three days, we know we're
(03:43):
going to need a lot of ambulances for all the Swifties.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
They recommend a ten year plan to find long term
solutions plus short term fixes that could help the problem.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Now, this is taking the last century of chaos essentially
and stovepiping of resources and making a plan where we
all move together. We once and once and for all
find the way forwards that people are not falling through
the cracks. Finally, we recognize the need to stop the
bleeding right now. The pain of this workforce crisis is
(04:13):
already being acutely felt, and to help with this, we
have a series of stopgap workforce initiatives that compromise. The
bulk of the funding ask five hundred thousand per biennium
towards subsidizing the cost of paramedic licenses. Many states cover
some of the costs of paramedic licenses. Oregon currently does not,
and they are quite expensive and in a barrier to
entry five hundred thousand per biennium towards the Oregon Healthcare
(04:36):
Provider Loan Forgiveness program for rural paramedics. Student loan forgiveness
paramedics are currently not covered under this program and this
would change that. And that is where our area of
greatest need is an increase in the existing rural EMS
volunteer tax credit from two hundred to two fifty to
one thousand in an effort to retain remaining EMS volunteers
(04:56):
before other solutions take hold. An EMS Region Innovations Fund,
which is a million dollar budget for each EMS region
to propose local equipment investments or workforce pilot programs of
their choosing pertaining to EMS. There are seven EMS regions,
so this amounts to a seven million dollar investment directly
into the hands of our local EMS providers to generate
(05:17):
solutions that are specific to their region's needs. These initiatives,
with the exception of the EMS Region Innovation Fund sunset
in twenty thirty. The hope is that the ten year
Plan recommendations will be starting to transition in allowing these
stop gaps to transition out or be intentionally extended. One
final initiative has to do with a two year associate's
degree requirement for paramedics, which is a unique organ requirement
(05:41):
compared to other states. The benefits of this policy are evident.
We have comparatively higher quality of care and higher wages
for paramedics than other states. However, it does pose accessibility
challenges and squeezes the top of the workforce funnel. A
conversation Repdeal and I have had many times. The solution
we are proposing is to keep the two years associate degree,
(06:02):
but to allow for alternatives to including a bully registered
apprenticeship on the job training programs that are reviewed and
approved by the state EMS program or military skills training
programs that are reviewed and approved by state EMS program
to count as an equivalent. I want to put on
the record for legislative intent that these alternatives only apply
as that equivalent to the two year associate's degree requirement
(06:24):
and no other part of the training, your education requirements
of becoming a licensed paramedic in the state of Oregon.
You still need your patient contacts, you still need your
right areas of study. I'll conclude by reiterating that our
EMS workforce is in crisis and that the bills before
you can help they are carefully considered. They're driven by
EMS providers and stakeholders who are in the field and
doing the work. We are on the edge of a
(06:47):
cliff and we're starting to tip. The cost if we
fall is the life of Oregonians.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
That state Representative Dacia Graeber, explaining her bill to help
improve the emergency medical service system in Oregon. EMS provider
spoke in support of the bill that remains in committee.
If you have a child who's getting ready to graduate,
this can be a difficult time for them and for you.
Doctor Lisa de Nike is a causer promanente physician. Doctor DeNike,
(07:14):
one of the big mistakes that parents make.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
During this time, you know, I think the biggest mistake
we can make as parents is to assume that we
know what our adult children.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
Need from us.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I think this is a great time of reflection as
our kids leave the nest to reflect on the amazing
parenting we've provided them for eighteen plus years, and we've
been preparing them for this part of their life for
those eighteen years, and so I think we need to
have some confidence in how we've raised our kids, and
also that we've built a foundation that they know that
(07:45):
we're here from them no matter what.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
Leaving is a kid now is different than it was
for their parents, Doctor DeNike, these kids were affected by
the pandemic.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
That's absolutely true.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
You know, we have to remember that this cohort of
kids really work find to their homes during the time
in their lives it was so important to develop independence
and skills outside of the family. The tween and teen
years really are about finding your role in the world
outside of your family, and these kids were kind of
(08:17):
void of that opportunity because of the pandemic and being
home bound for so long. And I've missed out a
lot of them, have missed out on really significant transitions
in their life, the transition from middle school to high school,
high school graduation, the majority of high school prom you know,
the big events that you and I got to experience
and celebrate as young adults. Are kids really missed out
(08:38):
on and so yeah, their needs are different in that way.
And you know, there's a lot of discussion out there
in the pediatric world that kids really were stunted in
that way. And so the support we give these kids
really has to be around helping them develop those skills
of independence, and the independence isn't developed by us hovering
or us helicoptering or solving their problems. And also realizing
(09:03):
that they can make decisions. They might not be the
right ones, but this is still a time of safety
for them. They have a safety net. When you're in
college or you're in a new job, you might still
be living at home, but working, maybe working part time,
going to school part time. You know, school is a
bit of a safe haven for kids even when they're
in school or in college, in a way, there's still
(09:25):
a safety net there. And so recognizing that there are
supports for them and preparing them for the time in
their life when those supports are not there anymore is
really important to think about.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Being an empty nester is different for each family. How
is it different for parents?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
You know, I think as parents we have to we
have to take that moment to stop and reflect about
what are our feelings and be careful not to project
those onto our children. And again, it's okay to have
an open conversation with your child and say, oh my gosh,
I'm going to miss you, but that doesn't mean I
don't want you to go and have a great new
life expres experience.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
You know. The other thing that I've come.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
To learn as an adult and as a pediatrician in
talking with parents is that worry is a waste of time.
Worry does not solve anything. Worry gives us misery. It
also can prevent our kids and young adult children from
sharing with us when they're struggling because they don't want
to burden us with their worries. And so recognizing that
and recognizing that we're allowed to have those feelings and
(10:24):
we are responsible for processing those for ourselfs and that's
a good role model for our kids too. Right to recognize, gosh,
you're feeling.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Really anxious about moving away, and you're going to be away.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
And you're going to get homesick. You know, planning ahead
to know there are going to be days you want
to come home now and you're going to be sad,
and you know, we need to think about those ahead
of time a little bit and think about what are
some coping strategies you can use. Technology is amazing. Now
we can be in touch with our with our families
as much or as little as we want to be
with a caveat that again, this cohortive.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
Kids spend a lot of time on Zoom.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
And it's so for some of them, it's a really
negative feeling that they have about being online with their
parents or their families. So asking them again, ask them
what they need. Is it a phone call, is it
a text?
Speaker 4 (11:07):
Maybe it's just a text tay IM thinking about you.
I love you, I hope you have a great day.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
They may or may not respond, But that doesn't mean
that they have negative feelings towards you.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
They may just be busy. Maybe they're doing great.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
There's just as much of a chance they're really flourishing
as there is that they're really struggling.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
So we have to remember that.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
What are some tips for parents?
Speaker 3 (11:24):
I think again, we have to have an open dialogue
with our kids. What is meaningful to you? How do
you want to communicate? And it's okay for it to
change when a young adult moves away, whether it be
again to start a job, or go to college.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
We talk a lot about college.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
We have to remember a lot of kids just go
to work, they go into the workforce, they go to
trade school. They might still be living at home. And
even in that scenario, your kid might not want to
see you very much. They may live in the same
house with you, but they're you know, they may want
their space. And so I think one asking them, how
can I best support you? I love you, I'm here
for you. What does support look like for you? I
(11:59):
want to do what is meaningful to you.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
That's okay. If it changes, let's talk about it.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
You know, you might have told me last month you
want to talk to me every day or text every
day or FaceTime, But you know, I've found a new
family at school or in my new town, and I'm
getting support there. So just because I'm not in touch
doesn't mean I don't need you and I don't love you,
and I don't want to hear from you. But I
might be out with my chosen family right in my
new place, and there can be a lot of support
(12:25):
from chosen family in school, especially if you have a
young adult moving in with some roommates or moving into
college into a dorm Again, they're capable creatures because we
raise them to be that way, and so they can
find support in other places. But ask that open dialogue
and don't assign an emotion to what they're telling you.
That's I think that's key as a parent at all ages.
(12:47):
It's not you know, when we work from the emotional
part of our brain, we're not logical. And so the
minute that we feel hurt by something our children tell us,
we have to take a minute to recognize if that's
a feeling we're having, I hurt and don't from the hurt.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Is it wrong to be excited about being at the
empty nest phase?
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Absolutely not. I think that is.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
You know, I think in society we assign sort of
these roles to parents, and that is that we are
only here to raise our kids, and we're only here
for their enjoyment, and we're only here to be their
chauffeur and their everything.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
That is not the case. We were our own, independent
human beings before we.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
Had babies, and that's where we move back to when
the kids move away. And so I think it's a
wonderful opportunity. And the other thing is we have to
remember that we're always role models for our children. And
so when our children see us doing things that make
us happy, that keep us productive and active, those are
things that they're going to do when they get older too.
So we're always role modeling for our children. And being
(13:47):
happy and distracted in that way also keeps us from worrying,
because again, that's a that's kind of a worthless emotion.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
It doesn't it's not productive at all.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
That's Kinser. Prominente pediatrician doctor Lisa to Nike with help
for parents who will soon be empty nesters and how
to deal with being an empty nester and advice for
helping your kids after they leave the house. Cell phones
could be banned during the school day in all Oregon
public schools under a bill and the Oregon Legislature States
(14:16):
Editor Lisa Reynolds is one of the bill's sponsors.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
What if I told you we had a school policy
that improves academic performance, it improves youth mental health, and
it improves school attendance. Well, house built two, two five
one will accomplish all three, and it has no fiscal
I will say that my written testimony includes the proof
(14:40):
of these assertions. You know, it strikes me that this
committee and other folks in this building are charged with
assembling a massive K twelve spending package, billions and billions,
to quote Carl Sagan. As we should, of course, and
we talk about student success and quality education models and
early literacy. But I've really come to believe that we
(15:02):
are tying one hand behind a student's back, or teachers
back for that matter. With the ubiquitous distraction of cell phones.
When the student is in a classroom but is distracted
by their phone, by its mere presence or the actual
content on the screen, content that generates tremendous revenue for
tech companies, the billions of billions of dollars in our
(15:24):
K twelve budget are going to have less impact. And
let's face it, impact is what we must see in
the coming years in our schools. It's the talk of
the town and the talk of this building. We must
lift ourselves out of Oregon having among the worst reading
and math scores in the US. We must lift our
high school graduation rates. We're at eighty two percent and
the national average is eighty seven percent. We must lift
(15:46):
ourselves out of Organ's ranking of having the worst youth
mental health status among the United States. You know, I
remember the smoking lounge. I'm old enough that we had
a smoking lounge my high school, the smoking lounge, and
I remember that my brother was out there smoking. I
was not when he was a senior. And over the
(16:08):
years we saw fit, of course, to shut down high
school smoking lounges. What were we thinking, right? We made
the assessment that the impact on students' health, the codependence
of schools enabling youth smoking and nicotine addiction are outweighed
any reason to offer this privilege to students. My brother
remains addicted to cigarettes. He's status post one heart attack,
(16:31):
and it was his youthful exposure that locked it all
in for him. So let's not be complicit with this addiction,
the addiction to social media. Let's no longer turn a
blind eye to the serious damage that cell phone content
is wreaking on our youth. Let's help our students thrive
and our schools climb out of the academic and mental
health holes that we are in. To continue doing the
(16:52):
same thing and expecting a different outcome just makes no sense.
And as a pediatrician, as an evidence based policy wonk,
as someone who knows oregon Students' best days are ahead,
if we have the courage to make the tough choices,
I ask you to join me in advocating for the
ending of cell phones in what should be rich, engaging
learning environments in our classrooms.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
State Representative April Dobson says cell phones and social media
play a role in student success.
Speaker 6 (17:21):
Our kids are in trouble. They face worsening academic outcomes,
shorter attention spans, and rising rates of loneliness and depression.
Smartphones and all the distractions they offer aren't the sole
cause of these problems, but there is no doubt they
are a cause. The evidence is clear that reducing cell
phone use during the school day improves academic outcomes, reduces
(17:44):
behavioral issues, and supports kids' mental health. I've seen firsthand
how such policies can impact our schools. In North Clackamis,
we implemented a similar bell to bell restriction on student
cell phones and the results have been remarkable. Classroom disruptions
are down thirty one percent from the previous year. Rates
of harassment, fighting, and harmful speech are all down as well,
(18:06):
and attendance is up over the prior year. One of
the most striking statistics I can share from the North c.
Blackhamas School District is that ninety eight percent of the
teachers we surveyed said bell to bell ban on cell
phones had had a positive impact on their classroom environments.
Ninety eight percent. Constantly policing out of control cell phone
uses the reality for too many teachers right now. So
(18:28):
this bill isn't just about protecting students. It's also about
supporting educators and giving them the freedom to focus on teaching.
Once implemented, this bill can create a culture shift in
our schools when where being present and engaged becomes the
expectation and not the exception. Some might argue that these
policies should be left entirely to local districts, but I
(18:50):
believe it's our responsibility in this committee to show leadership.
The dash Too Amendment would establish a baseline standard that
will create consistency across our state while still allow for
local flexibility. Students in every Oregon community deserve learning environments
free from the constant pull of digital distractions.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Adrian Anderson is with the Oregon School Boards Association and
they support a different version of the bill.
Speaker 7 (19:13):
We are a local control, local decision making state, and
there are many districts that have already adopted a policy,
whether that's bell to bell or prohibiting it during during
instructional time. And so and a lot of our districts
have gone through family engagement, student engagement, staff engagement, and
we really don't want to up end network if they've
already put in work to adopt a policy, and so
(19:36):
we would appreciate allowing districts to still kind of have
that decision making and to be able to have the
policies that they've already adopted. Also in the dash the
amendments is an exception for emergency circumstances. So a school
district should adopt a policy about emergencies and if and
(19:57):
when students can use a personal electronic device during agencies,
because I know that that is something that's on the
minds of you know, pretty much everyone nowadays. And I
do want to something that I was thinking about earlier
this morning was we've all been talking about cell phones
and the term and the bill is personal electronic device.
And right now the statute the definition there's no definition
(20:21):
in the statute, but our policies, OSBA's model policies and
we develop them in coordination with ODE, have a definition
for personal electronic device, which is basically just a device
that stores data, which can also include someone's personal laptop.
And I know some students use district provided laptops, some
students use their own personal laptop. And so whichever whichever
(20:44):
amendment passes out of committee, I do think we need
to come up with a definite either a definition for
personal electronic device or specifically carve out what we're talking
about that we're banning, whether that's cell phones, iPads, smart
one or something like that, so we're not excluding students
who use the laptop their own laptops.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
During the day. The build of band cell phone use
during the school day is being considered in the Oregon
legislature and currently remains in committee. The Boys and Girls
Clubs of the Portland Metropolitan Area help get kids involved
in sports and other activities. Terry Johnson is the chief
executive officer. He talked with RIP City Radio. Terry's sports
(21:27):
are a big part of what the Boys and Girls
Clubs do because they teach kids so much.
Speaker 8 (21:31):
We put a major emphasis on sports and making sure
that our youth have a place to come and be active.
You know, it's great for you know, for health, it's
really good for mental wellness, and it's also really good
for you know, building community with our youth, and so, uh,
you know, having the equipment we need to be able
to create those opportunities for youth is really really important.
(21:55):
So we have four core competencies that we focus on
as an organization and our out of school time programming,
STEAM programming, sport and play, financial empowerment, and life and
career pathways. And so under sport and play, we need
the equipment necessary to be able to provide those opportunities
for youth.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Johnson says, having girls involved is just as important as boys.
Speaker 8 (22:18):
One of the things that we're looking at in terms
of youth sports is how we engage and introduce girls
to team sports, in particular because research shows that women
who are in leadership roles in either the profit sector
or nonprofit sector nonprofit sector, that they participated in team
(22:39):
sports when they were young and so, but also research
shows that girls who engage sports have a tendency to
drop out of sports in the fifth grade or in
the eighth grade, and so in those transition years, that's
when girls are dropping out. And so we're trying to
(23:00):
be really intentional about making sure that we are prioritizing
girls in sports to make sure that they stay connected
to team sports because we see it as part of
workforce development in raising future women as future leaders in
the community.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
What's the key to getting girls engaged?
Speaker 8 (23:18):
Well, a lot of it is about representation, right, and
so when you look at youth sports and who's coaching,
you know, disproportionately you see a lot of male coaches,
and so we try to be really intentional about recruiting
females in women as volunteer coaches in our club programs,
and so when women are represented as volunteers and coaches,
(23:43):
we just naturally have more girls showing up to play
and staying engaged over a period of time.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
One focus of the Boys and Girls Clubs is to
structure time so kids get time using computers but also
physical activity.
Speaker 8 (23:58):
It's really important to us to make sure we you know,
we have that structured time in place, because we're also
working to be really intentional in terms of how we
do skills development, and so you know, at the end
of the day, what we are like our goal is
to make sure that all of the youth that we
serve are positive, productive citizens in the community and in
(24:21):
the workforce after they leave the Boys and Girls club
and so we serve kids on a full age continuum
from six to eighteen. So if a kid comes to
the Boys and Girls clubs and signs up at eight six,
then we have the potential of keeping them engaged and
working with them over a twelve year period of time.
(24:42):
So that's twelve years of skills development, and so we
try to be really intentional about how we structure that
time and make sure that what we're doing with our
elementary kids is relevant to their developmental needs during that
period and then scaffolding up from middle school to high school,
and so you know, there's a lot of opportunity in
(25:04):
time and space for just kind of more casual recreational
play because kids needs to have that free time and
it can't feel like school all the time. But we
also realize that we have to be structure and intentional
in the sense of making sure that there's carved out
time to really work on skills development, right, and so
a lot of that comes through sports in team activity.
(25:29):
So when it comes to sports and team play, there's
a lot of skills that we're developing in terms of
like communication, skills, resiliency, problem solving all of that is
in team sports.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Do you have any examples of how students are excelling
in the boys and girls clubs?
Speaker 8 (25:45):
One in particular, So each year we do what's called
Youth of the Year. This year we had a young
lady who attends our en Ukai club which is out
in Hillsborough. Her name is Nambi. This year she's in
tenth grade and so she participated in Youth of the
Year for three years. She lost well. The first year,
(26:07):
she didn't want to participate because she didn't feel like
she had the communication skills to be able to compete.
She was really nervous about it. She just didn't have
the confidence. We kept encouraging her because we saw some
you know, you know, potential in her, and so she
decided to participate. Two years, you know, she didn't get
to the finals. She was devastated that she didn't win.
(26:28):
The third year, this past year she won. And one
of the things that she said was like, you know,
when I first started competing, I had no confidence, and now,
you know, with this, like I've really built up my
confidence and my communication skills and I feel like I
can stand in front of an adult audience and deliver
(26:48):
my speech.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
So there are.
Speaker 8 (26:53):
Thirteen different organizations boys and girls club organizations that operate
across the state, operating about fifty three clubhouses. For Portland
Metro our organization, you know, serves the Portland Metro area
and we operate six clubhouses. So when we run Youth
of the Year, we do a Youth of the Year
(27:13):
competition at each of those six clubhouses in the Portland
Metro area and then the winner from each clubhouse then
competes in the city wide competition, and then the winner
of the city wide competition then goes to the state competition.
And so Nambi, she wanted it in Yucai, and then
she participated in the state in the city competition and
(27:35):
then went on to state. So and then whoever wins
state goes to regional and then whoever wins regional goes
to national.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
What are your goals to grow programs?
Speaker 8 (27:43):
Yeah, you know, in terms of where we're going strategically.
You know, currently we serve about six hundred kids in
terms of direct programming doing the after school areas, we
have hours, we have about one hundred on average that
we have capacity need to serve in direct service programming
doing the out of school time hours, but we impact
(28:06):
over forty six hundred families throughout the year. And so
that forty six hundred number comes from like community outreach
events that we do. So we do family Nights and
then we also do like cultural events like Juneteenth and
Single de Maayo or back to school events, you know,
things like that we're able to extend our reach into
(28:30):
the surrounding community to make deeper impact. We also serve
meals to the communities, things like that, so our clubhouses
serve a huge need in each of the communities that
they serve. So for us, you know, fundraising is a
big part right and so you know, we need more
(28:50):
financial support to be able to impact more families and
kids at the end of the day. And this is
why this is so important because you know, the community
is owing up in a big way to donate sports
equipments in terms of balls that we can implement, you know,
into our sports programming. But you know, whether it's in
(29:10):
kind gifts like sports equipments or financial gifts that helps
us advents our mission. Folks can reach out to us
at BGC Portland dot org. And and you know, if
you're interested in making a financial contribution, giving additional sports equipment,
or volunteering that would be really, really helpful.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
That's Terry Johnson, chief executive officer of the Boys and
Girls Clubs of the Portland Metropolitan Area, talking with RIFF
City Radio again. Their website is BGC Portland dot org.
Thanks for listening to Local Voices. I'm brad Ford. You
can hear past episodes on the iHeartRadio app under the
podcast tab. Local Voices is a public affairs presentation from iHeartRadio.
Welcome to local voices. I'm brad Ford this week, improving
Oregon's emergency medical services system, helping parents who will soon
become empty nesters, cell phones could be banned from all
schools in Oregon, and how the Boys and Girls clubs
are helping kids locally. EMS providers emergency medical services like
(00:24):
paramedics and ambulances are struggling to meet demand across Oregon.
A bill in the legislature seeks to create a long
term solution and a short term fix. State Representative Dacia
Graber explains the problem when I'm not.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
A legislator, I'm a firefighter and paramedic, and please take
it from me when I say that our emergency medical
services are in crisis. In the day to day lives
of Oregonians, this particular workforce and funding issue is acutely
being felt. In twenty twenty two, a regional survey of
twenty one Oregon EMS agencies revealed one hundred and fifty
eight vacancies for paramedics and eighty four vacancies for EMTs.
(00:59):
From this Snopshete and Mulnoma County ambulances were recorded arriving
late to medical emergencies about twenty eight percent of the
time over a six month period, which providers chalk up
in part to a nationwide paramedic staffing shortage, and as
of just this month, Oregon EMS providers have been attempting
to bring in paramedics from as far away as Australia
(01:21):
just to provide some measure of relief. Within this year,
the two count of two EMS volunteers in Fossil have retired,
leaving that area of Oregon with no dedicated ambulance covered
except what can be covered by neighboring communities and air
ambly air ambulances, which are very expensive. Nowhere is this
issue more acutely felt than our rural and frontier regions.
(01:43):
Wheeler County, as an example, has no hospital and transport
to the closest hospital from the county seat is sixty
five and a half miles or a one hour and
thirty one minute drive on secondary roads in good weather.
Oregon's largest county, Harney, has a single ASA that's an
ambulance service provider area with fifteen staff and four ambulances
(02:04):
to cover ten thousand plus square miles. In twenty twenty four,
the Office of Rural Health did a survey of Oregon's
rural and frontier EMS agencies. The results showed the top
resources as the resource needs as number one equipment eighty
seven point one percent, with most rural and remote EMS
agencies reporting the need to fundraise to purchase equipment, so
(02:24):
folks were having bake sales for ambulances and life saving equipment.
Workforce recruitment and retention sixty four percent. Only eighteen percent
of rural and remote EMS agencies report adequate staffing for
one hundred percent of the emergency calls they receive initial
and incumbent EMS staff training, primarily due to the inaccessible
location or cost off trainings, and lack of billing or
(02:47):
coding training and resources needed to maximize billing for EMS services.
In addition, data from the Oregon Health Authority EMS Licensing
Survey shows that many rural EMS agencies experience operational operational vulnerabils.
Twenty four percent of rule and fifteen percent of remote
agencies are in danger of service suspension. A full quarter
are on the precipice of no service, of no one
(03:10):
of calling nine to one one, and no one is coming.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Graber brought together a work group of fifty people from
the EMS industry to find solutions. One plan is to
create an EMS mobilization plan.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
You may be familiar with our fire mobilization plan, which
allows for firefighting resources to be easily redistributed around the
state in times of heightened need. And this is the
exact same premise, so focused on an EMS equivalent. So,
for example, we pre mobilize sources when we know we
have a big storm coming in. I like to think
of this as the pre mobilization. If Taylor Swift decides
to play and bend for three days, we know we're
(03:43):
going to need a lot of ambulances for all the Swifties.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
They recommend a ten year plan to find long term
solutions plus short term fixes that could help the problem.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Now, this is taking the last century of chaos essentially
and stovepiping of resources and making a plan where we
all move together. We once and once and for all
find the way forwards that people are not falling through
the cracks. Finally, we recognize the need to stop the
bleeding right now. The pain of this workforce crisis is
(04:13):
already being acutely felt, and to help with this, we
have a series of stopgap workforce initiatives that compromise. The
bulk of the funding ask five hundred thousand per biennium
towards subsidizing the cost of paramedic licenses. Many states cover
some of the costs of paramedic licenses. Oregon currently does not,
and they are quite expensive and in a barrier to
entry five hundred thousand per biennium towards the Oregon Healthcare
(04:36):
Provider Loan Forgiveness program for rural paramedics. Student loan forgiveness
paramedics are currently not covered under this program and this
would change that. And that is where our area of
greatest need is an increase in the existing rural EMS
volunteer tax credit from two hundred to two fifty to
one thousand in an effort to retain remaining EMS volunteers
(04:56):
before other solutions take hold. An EMS Region Innovations Fund,
which is a million dollar budget for each EMS region
to propose local equipment investments or workforce pilot programs of
their choosing pertaining to EMS. There are seven EMS regions,
so this amounts to a seven million dollar investment directly
into the hands of our local EMS providers to generate
(05:17):
solutions that are specific to their region's needs. These initiatives,
with the exception of the EMS Region Innovation Fund sunset
in twenty thirty. The hope is that the ten year
Plan recommendations will be starting to transition in allowing these
stop gaps to transition out or be intentionally extended. One
final initiative has to do with a two year associate's
degree requirement for paramedics, which is a unique organ requirement
(05:41):
compared to other states. The benefits of this policy are evident.
We have comparatively higher quality of care and higher wages
for paramedics than other states. However, it does pose accessibility
challenges and squeezes the top of the workforce funnel. A
conversation Repdeal and I have had many times. The solution
we are proposing is to keep the two years associate degree,
(06:02):
but to allow for alternatives to including a bully registered
apprenticeship on the job training programs that are reviewed and
approved by the state EMS program or military skills training
programs that are reviewed and approved by state EMS program
to count as an equivalent. I want to put on
the record for legislative intent that these alternatives only apply
as that equivalent to the two year associate's degree requirement
(06:24):
and no other part of the training, your education requirements
of becoming a licensed paramedic in the state of Oregon.
You still need your patient contacts, you still need your
right areas of study. I'll conclude by reiterating that our
EMS workforce is in crisis and that the bills before
you can help they are carefully considered. They're driven by
EMS providers and stakeholders who are in the field and
doing the work. We are on the edge of a
(06:47):
cliff and we're starting to tip. The cost if we
fall is the life of Oregonians.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
That state Representative Dacia Graeber, explaining her bill to help
improve the emergency medical service system in Oregon. EMS provider
spoke in support of the bill that remains in committee.
If you have a child who's getting ready to graduate,
this can be a difficult time for them and for you.
Doctor Lisa de Nike is a causer promanente physician. Doctor DeNike,
(07:14):
one of the big mistakes that parents make.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
During this time, you know, I think the biggest mistake
we can make as parents is to assume that we
know what our adult children.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
Need from us.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I think this is a great time of reflection as
our kids leave the nest to reflect on the amazing
parenting we've provided them for eighteen plus years, and we've
been preparing them for this part of their life for
those eighteen years, and so I think we need to
have some confidence in how we've raised our kids, and
also that we've built a foundation that they know that
(07:45):
we're here from them no matter what.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
Leaving is a kid now is different than it was
for their parents, Doctor DeNike, these kids were affected by
the pandemic.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
That's absolutely true.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
You know, we have to remember that this cohort of
kids really work find to their homes during the time
in their lives it was so important to develop independence
and skills outside of the family. The tween and teen
years really are about finding your role in the world
outside of your family, and these kids were kind of
(08:17):
void of that opportunity because of the pandemic and being
home bound for so long. And I've missed out a
lot of them, have missed out on really significant transitions
in their life, the transition from middle school to high school,
high school graduation, the majority of high school prom you know,
the big events that you and I got to experience
and celebrate as young adults. Are kids really missed out
(08:38):
on and so yeah, their needs are different in that way.
And you know, there's a lot of discussion out there
in the pediatric world that kids really were stunted in
that way. And so the support we give these kids
really has to be around helping them develop those skills
of independence, and the independence isn't developed by us hovering
or us helicoptering or solving their problems. And also realizing
(09:03):
that they can make decisions. They might not be the
right ones, but this is still a time of safety
for them. They have a safety net. When you're in
college or you're in a new job, you might still
be living at home, but working, maybe working part time,
going to school part time. You know, school is a
bit of a safe haven for kids even when they're
in school or in college, in a way, there's still
(09:25):
a safety net there. And so recognizing that there are
supports for them and preparing them for the time in
their life when those supports are not there anymore is
really important to think about.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Being an empty nester is different for each family. How
is it different for parents?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
You know, I think as parents we have to we
have to take that moment to stop and reflect about
what are our feelings and be careful not to project
those onto our children. And again, it's okay to have
an open conversation with your child and say, oh my gosh,
I'm going to miss you, but that doesn't mean I
don't want you to go and have a great new
life expres experience.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
You know. The other thing that I've come.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
To learn as an adult and as a pediatrician in
talking with parents is that worry is a waste of time.
Worry does not solve anything. Worry gives us misery. It
also can prevent our kids and young adult children from
sharing with us when they're struggling because they don't want
to burden us with their worries. And so recognizing that
and recognizing that we're allowed to have those feelings and
(10:24):
we are responsible for processing those for ourselfs and that's
a good role model for our kids too. Right to recognize, gosh,
you're feeling.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Really anxious about moving away, and you're going to be away.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
And you're going to get homesick. You know, planning ahead
to know there are going to be days you want
to come home now and you're going to be sad,
and you know, we need to think about those ahead
of time a little bit and think about what are
some coping strategies you can use. Technology is amazing. Now
we can be in touch with our with our families
as much or as little as we want to be
with a caveat that again, this cohortive.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
Kids spend a lot of time on Zoom.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
And it's so for some of them, it's a really
negative feeling that they have about being online with their
parents or their families. So asking them again, ask them
what they need. Is it a phone call, is it
a text?
Speaker 4 (11:07):
Maybe it's just a text tay IM thinking about you.
I love you, I hope you have a great day.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
They may or may not respond, But that doesn't mean
that they have negative feelings towards you.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
They may just be busy. Maybe they're doing great.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
There's just as much of a chance they're really flourishing
as there is that they're really struggling.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
So we have to remember that.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
What are some tips for parents?
Speaker 3 (11:24):
I think again, we have to have an open dialogue
with our kids. What is meaningful to you? How do
you want to communicate? And it's okay for it to
change when a young adult moves away, whether it be
again to start a job, or go to college.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
We talk a lot about college.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
We have to remember a lot of kids just go
to work, they go into the workforce, they go to
trade school. They might still be living at home. And
even in that scenario, your kid might not want to
see you very much. They may live in the same
house with you, but they're you know, they may want
their space. And so I think one asking them, how
can I best support you? I love you, I'm here
for you. What does support look like for you? I
(11:59):
want to do what is meaningful to you.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
That's okay. If it changes, let's talk about it.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
You know, you might have told me last month you
want to talk to me every day or text every
day or FaceTime, But you know, I've found a new
family at school or in my new town, and I'm
getting support there. So just because I'm not in touch
doesn't mean I don't need you and I don't love you,
and I don't want to hear from you. But I
might be out with my chosen family right in my
new place, and there can be a lot of support
(12:25):
from chosen family in school, especially if you have a
young adult moving in with some roommates or moving into
college into a dorm Again, they're capable creatures because we
raise them to be that way, and so they can
find support in other places. But ask that open dialogue
and don't assign an emotion to what they're telling you.
That's I think that's key as a parent at all ages.
(12:47):
It's not you know, when we work from the emotional
part of our brain, we're not logical. And so the
minute that we feel hurt by something our children tell us,
we have to take a minute to recognize if that's
a feeling we're having, I hurt and don't from the hurt.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Is it wrong to be excited about being at the
empty nest phase?
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Absolutely not. I think that is.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
You know, I think in society we assign sort of
these roles to parents, and that is that we are
only here to raise our kids, and we're only here
for their enjoyment, and we're only here to be their
chauffeur and their everything.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
That is not the case. We were our own, independent
human beings before we.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
Had babies, and that's where we move back to when
the kids move away. And so I think it's a
wonderful opportunity. And the other thing is we have to
remember that we're always role models for our children. And
so when our children see us doing things that make
us happy, that keep us productive and active, those are
things that they're going to do when they get older too.
So we're always role modeling for our children. And being
(13:47):
happy and distracted in that way also keeps us from worrying,
because again, that's a that's kind of a worthless emotion.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
It doesn't it's not productive at all.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
That's Kinser. Prominente pediatrician doctor Lisa to Nike with help
for parents who will soon be empty nesters and how
to deal with being an empty nester and advice for
helping your kids after they leave the house. Cell phones
could be banned during the school day in all Oregon
public schools under a bill and the Oregon Legislature States
(14:16):
Editor Lisa Reynolds is one of the bill's sponsors.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
What if I told you we had a school policy
that improves academic performance, it improves youth mental health, and
it improves school attendance. Well, house built two, two five
one will accomplish all three, and it has no fiscal
I will say that my written testimony includes the proof
(14:40):
of these assertions. You know, it strikes me that this
committee and other folks in this building are charged with
assembling a massive K twelve spending package, billions and billions,
to quote Carl Sagan. As we should, of course, and
we talk about student success and quality education models and
early literacy. But I've really come to believe that we
(15:02):
are tying one hand behind a student's back, or teachers
back for that matter. With the ubiquitous distraction of cell phones.
When the student is in a classroom but is distracted
by their phone, by its mere presence or the actual
content on the screen, content that generates tremendous revenue for
tech companies, the billions of billions of dollars in our
(15:24):
K twelve budget are going to have less impact. And
let's face it, impact is what we must see in
the coming years in our schools. It's the talk of
the town and the talk of this building. We must
lift ourselves out of Oregon having among the worst reading
and math scores in the US. We must lift our
high school graduation rates. We're at eighty two percent and
the national average is eighty seven percent. We must lift
(15:46):
ourselves out of Organ's ranking of having the worst youth
mental health status among the United States. You know, I
remember the smoking lounge. I'm old enough that we had
a smoking lounge my high school, the smoking lounge, and
I remember that my brother was out there smoking. I
was not when he was a senior. And over the
(16:08):
years we saw fit, of course, to shut down high
school smoking lounges. What were we thinking, right? We made
the assessment that the impact on students' health, the codependence
of schools enabling youth smoking and nicotine addiction are outweighed
any reason to offer this privilege to students. My brother
remains addicted to cigarettes. He's status post one heart attack,
(16:31):
and it was his youthful exposure that locked it all
in for him. So let's not be complicit with this addiction,
the addiction to social media. Let's no longer turn a
blind eye to the serious damage that cell phone content
is wreaking on our youth. Let's help our students thrive
and our schools climb out of the academic and mental
health holes that we are in. To continue doing the
(16:52):
same thing and expecting a different outcome just makes no sense.
And as a pediatrician, as an evidence based policy wonk,
as someone who knows oregon Students' best days are ahead,
if we have the courage to make the tough choices,
I ask you to join me in advocating for the
ending of cell phones in what should be rich, engaging
learning environments in our classrooms.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
State Representative April Dobson says cell phones and social media
play a role in student success.
Speaker 6 (17:21):
Our kids are in trouble. They face worsening academic outcomes,
shorter attention spans, and rising rates of loneliness and depression.
Smartphones and all the distractions they offer aren't the sole
cause of these problems, but there is no doubt they
are a cause. The evidence is clear that reducing cell
phone use during the school day improves academic outcomes, reduces
(17:44):
behavioral issues, and supports kids' mental health. I've seen firsthand
how such policies can impact our schools. In North Clackamis,
we implemented a similar bell to bell restriction on student
cell phones and the results have been remarkable. Classroom disruptions
are down thirty one percent from the previous year. Rates
of harassment, fighting, and harmful speech are all down as well,
(18:06):
and attendance is up over the prior year. One of
the most striking statistics I can share from the North c.
Blackhamas School District is that ninety eight percent of the
teachers we surveyed said bell to bell ban on cell
phones had had a positive impact on their classroom environments.
Ninety eight percent. Constantly policing out of control cell phone
uses the reality for too many teachers right now. So
(18:28):
this bill isn't just about protecting students. It's also about
supporting educators and giving them the freedom to focus on teaching.
Once implemented, this bill can create a culture shift in
our schools when where being present and engaged becomes the
expectation and not the exception. Some might argue that these
policies should be left entirely to local districts, but I
(18:50):
believe it's our responsibility in this committee to show leadership.
The dash Too Amendment would establish a baseline standard that
will create consistency across our state while still allow for
local flexibility. Students in every Oregon community deserve learning environments
free from the constant pull of digital distractions.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Adrian Anderson is with the Oregon School Boards Association and
they support a different version of the bill.
Speaker 7 (19:13):
We are a local control, local decision making state, and
there are many districts that have already adopted a policy,
whether that's bell to bell or prohibiting it during during
instructional time. And so and a lot of our districts
have gone through family engagement, student engagement, staff engagement, and
we really don't want to up end network if they've
already put in work to adopt a policy, and so
(19:36):
we would appreciate allowing districts to still kind of have
that decision making and to be able to have the
policies that they've already adopted. Also in the dash the
amendments is an exception for emergency circumstances. So a school
district should adopt a policy about emergencies and if and
(19:57):
when students can use a personal electronic device during agencies,
because I know that that is something that's on the
minds of you know, pretty much everyone nowadays. And I
do want to something that I was thinking about earlier
this morning was we've all been talking about cell phones
and the term and the bill is personal electronic device.
And right now the statute the definition there's no definition
(20:21):
in the statute, but our policies, OSBA's model policies and
we develop them in coordination with ODE, have a definition
for personal electronic device, which is basically just a device
that stores data, which can also include someone's personal laptop.
And I know some students use district provided laptops, some
students use their own personal laptop. And so whichever whichever
(20:44):
amendment passes out of committee, I do think we need
to come up with a definite either a definition for
personal electronic device or specifically carve out what we're talking
about that we're banning, whether that's cell phones, iPads, smart
one or something like that, so we're not excluding students
who use the laptop their own laptops.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
During the day. The build of band cell phone use
during the school day is being considered in the Oregon
legislature and currently remains in committee. The Boys and Girls
Clubs of the Portland Metropolitan Area help get kids involved
in sports and other activities. Terry Johnson is the chief
executive officer. He talked with RIP City Radio. Terry's sports
(21:27):
are a big part of what the Boys and Girls
Clubs do because they teach kids so much.
Speaker 8 (21:31):
We put a major emphasis on sports and making sure
that our youth have a place to come and be active.
You know, it's great for you know, for health, it's
really good for mental wellness, and it's also really good
for you know, building community with our youth, and so, uh,
you know, having the equipment we need to be able
to create those opportunities for youth is really really important.
(21:55):
So we have four core competencies that we focus on
as an organization and our out of school time programming,
STEAM programming, sport and play, financial empowerment, and life and
career pathways. And so under sport and play, we need
the equipment necessary to be able to provide those opportunities
for youth.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Johnson says, having girls involved is just as important as boys.
Speaker 8 (22:18):
One of the things that we're looking at in terms
of youth sports is how we engage and introduce girls
to team sports, in particular because research shows that women
who are in leadership roles in either the profit sector
or nonprofit sector nonprofit sector, that they participated in team
(22:39):
sports when they were young and so, but also research
shows that girls who engage sports have a tendency to
drop out of sports in the fifth grade or in
the eighth grade, and so in those transition years, that's
when girls are dropping out. And so we're trying to
(23:00):
be really intentional about making sure that we are prioritizing
girls in sports to make sure that they stay connected
to team sports because we see it as part of
workforce development in raising future women as future leaders in
the community.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
What's the key to getting girls engaged?
Speaker 8 (23:18):
Well, a lot of it is about representation, right, and
so when you look at youth sports and who's coaching,
you know, disproportionately you see a lot of male coaches,
and so we try to be really intentional about recruiting
females in women as volunteer coaches in our club programs,
and so when women are represented as volunteers and coaches,
(23:43):
we just naturally have more girls showing up to play
and staying engaged over a period of time.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
One focus of the Boys and Girls Clubs is to
structure time so kids get time using computers but also
physical activity.
Speaker 8 (23:58):
It's really important to us to make sure we you know,
we have that structured time in place, because we're also
working to be really intentional in terms of how we
do skills development, and so you know, at the end
of the day, what we are like our goal is
to make sure that all of the youth that we
serve are positive, productive citizens in the community and in
(24:21):
the workforce after they leave the Boys and Girls club
and so we serve kids on a full age continuum
from six to eighteen. So if a kid comes to
the Boys and Girls clubs and signs up at eight six,
then we have the potential of keeping them engaged and
working with them over a twelve year period of time.
(24:42):
So that's twelve years of skills development, and so we
try to be really intentional about how we structure that
time and make sure that what we're doing with our
elementary kids is relevant to their developmental needs during that
period and then scaffolding up from middle school to high school,
and so you know, there's a lot of opportunity in
(25:04):
time and space for just kind of more casual recreational
play because kids needs to have that free time and
it can't feel like school all the time. But we
also realize that we have to be structure and intentional
in the sense of making sure that there's carved out
time to really work on skills development, right, and so
a lot of that comes through sports in team activity.
(25:29):
So when it comes to sports and team play, there's
a lot of skills that we're developing in terms of
like communication, skills, resiliency, problem solving all of that is
in team sports.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Do you have any examples of how students are excelling
in the boys and girls clubs?
Speaker 8 (25:45):
One in particular, So each year we do what's called
Youth of the Year. This year we had a young
lady who attends our en Ukai club which is out
in Hillsborough. Her name is Nambi. This year she's in
tenth grade and so she participated in Youth of the
Year for three years. She lost well. The first year,
(26:07):
she didn't want to participate because she didn't feel like
she had the communication skills to be able to compete.
She was really nervous about it. She just didn't have
the confidence. We kept encouraging her because we saw some
you know, you know, potential in her, and so she
decided to participate. Two years, you know, she didn't get
to the finals. She was devastated that she didn't win.
(26:28):
The third year, this past year she won. And one
of the things that she said was like, you know,
when I first started competing, I had no confidence, and now,
you know, with this, like I've really built up my
confidence and my communication skills and I feel like I
can stand in front of an adult audience and deliver
(26:48):
my speech.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
So there are.
Speaker 8 (26:53):
Thirteen different organizations boys and girls club organizations that operate
across the state, operating about fifty three clubhouses. For Portland
Metro our organization, you know, serves the Portland Metro area
and we operate six clubhouses. So when we run Youth
of the Year, we do a Youth of the Year
(27:13):
competition at each of those six clubhouses in the Portland
Metro area and then the winner from each clubhouse then
competes in the city wide competition, and then the winner
of the city wide competition then goes to the state competition.
And so Nambi, she wanted it in Yucai, and then
she participated in the state in the city competition and
(27:35):
then went on to state. So and then whoever wins
state goes to regional and then whoever wins regional goes
to national.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
What are your goals to grow programs?
Speaker 8 (27:43):
Yeah, you know, in terms of where we're going strategically.
You know, currently we serve about six hundred kids in
terms of direct programming doing the after school areas, we
have hours, we have about one hundred on average that
we have capacity need to serve in direct service programming
doing the out of school time hours, but we impact
(28:06):
over forty six hundred families throughout the year. And so
that forty six hundred number comes from like community outreach
events that we do. So we do family Nights and
then we also do like cultural events like Juneteenth and
Single de Maayo or back to school events, you know,
things like that we're able to extend our reach into
(28:30):
the surrounding community to make deeper impact. We also serve
meals to the communities, things like that, so our clubhouses
serve a huge need in each of the communities that
they serve. So for us, you know, fundraising is a
big part right and so you know, we need more
(28:50):
financial support to be able to impact more families and
kids at the end of the day. And this is
why this is so important because you know, the community
is owing up in a big way to donate sports
equipments in terms of balls that we can implement, you know,
into our sports programming. But you know, whether it's in
(29:10):
kind gifts like sports equipments or financial gifts that helps
us advents our mission. Folks can reach out to us
at BGC Portland dot org. And and you know, if
you're interested in making a financial contribution, giving additional sports equipment,
or volunteering that would be really, really helpful.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
That's Terry Johnson, chief executive officer of the Boys and
Girls Clubs of the Portland Metropolitan Area, talking with RIFF
City Radio again. Their website is BGC Portland dot org.
Thanks for listening to Local Voices. I'm brad Ford. You
can hear past episodes on the iHeartRadio app under the
podcast tab. Local Voices is a public affairs presentation from iHeartRadio.
Popular Podcasts
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Decisions, Decisions
Welcome to "Decisions, Decisions," the podcast where boundaries are pushed, and conversations get candid! Join your favorite hosts, Mandii B and WeezyWTF, as they dive deep into the world of non-traditional relationships and explore the often-taboo topics surrounding dating, sex, and love. Every Monday, Mandii and Weezy invite you to unlearn the outdated narratives dictated by traditional patriarchal norms. With a blend of humor, vulnerability, and authenticity, they share their personal journeys navigating their 30s, tackling the complexities of modern relationships, and engaging in thought-provoking discussions that challenge societal expectations. From groundbreaking interviews with diverse guests to relatable stories that resonate with your experiences, "Decisions, Decisions" is your go-to source for open dialogue about what it truly means to love and connect in today's world. Get ready to reshape your understanding of relationships and embrace the freedom of authentic connections—tune in and join the conversation!