Emerald Art Center Second Friday Art Walk

 It’s home to a life-size sculpture of The Simpsons spanning six feet wide. It’s home to retired community members seeking out a purpose. It’s home to anybody looking to use creativity as a means of healing.

 “Whether people are struggling with mental health issues or other things in life, it gives them this way to express themselves and be able to meet other people who also have this beautiful talent or feel the same way,” said Natasha Fischer, the Emerald Art Center director.

 The Emerald Art Center held its Second Friday Art Walk on April 8, 2022, where community members viewed this month’s featured project: “Why We Build” from the Suicide Prevention Coalition in partner with Lane County Health. The exhibit accompanied numerous multimedia projects from local artists. Nine different locations are mapped out in downtown Springfield that you can stop at for art, music, shopping and refreshments.

 “Why We Build” was the prominent showing for the art walk this month. This project features 16 suicide survivor’s stories portrayed through multimedia art. Using these mediums provides a platform to tell the story of suicide through a framework focused on living rather than death.

 “Conceptualizing this as an art project rather than just public awareness is that art acts differently, the purpose of art is to be open to interpretation, by definition, and we wanted that to be the case rather than an authoritative voice coming from government about the topic,” said Brubaker.

 Since the late 1990’s the EAC in downtown Springfield has transformed from a space for people to create art together into a nonprofit organization that is committed to advocating for the arts.

 For the last 15 years, the EAC has put on the Second Friday Art Walk each month but were unable to during the COVID-19 pandemic. Community events, art classes and partnerships with neighboring businesses came to a halt. Within the last two years the EAC modified the art walk and stayed open for a few extra hours, showcasing an art reception, but attendance was scarce.

 “We are community based and people come here to feel that sense of community to get to know each other, so without that it was sad,” said Fischer. “We started to bring back music and finally refreshments which is a big draw, so things slowly but surely came back.”

 Sheila Simpson, avid attendee, and donor to the EAC, works at a hospital and during the pandemic found herself needing art more than ever, but the COVID-19 regulations were a “bummer.” “Art is the foremost thing to make you happy; it’s your view of life,” said Simpson.

 Roger Brubaker is the Public Health Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Promotion Coordinator at Lane County Health who also works to staff the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Lane County. Brubaker says that suicide is often discussed through the context of despair and finds people looking to understand it through data rather than personal narratives.

 “You can talk about it by the numbers and a bunch of statistics and describe how it effects communities that way. That’s not satisfactory, it’s not a complete way of telling a story about a subject or involving a community and we wanted to tell a story of suicide that’s one about life,” said Brubaker.

 A 2016 suicide report from Lane County Health shows that the county consistently has a suicide rate that is 50 percent higher than the national average, while also experiencing four times more deaths by suicide than 85 percent of other counties in the country.

 Brubaker has seen notable patterns in those with suicidal thoughts that point to issues within our society. This includes lack of healthcare, feeling unheard in democracy and being unable to achieve their goals through hard work.

 “Suicide points to a lot of those issues, it is a concern in and of itself, but also represents something very concerning about our society and who we say we are versus who we actually are,” said Brubaker.

 “Why We Build” acts as a public awareness campaign for suicide prevention, but also provides an account in putting a face to those with suicidal experiences. Creating this connection can encourage people to relate to one another. People are also given resources to learn more about those dealing with suicidal thoughts.

 The “Why We Build” project will be shown next in the Siuslaw Library in Florence, Ore., which will be the last showing for the foreseeable future. Brubaker hopes to showcase the project at the Salem Capital Building to highlight what is possible through government funding.

 With COVID-19 regulations alleviating, the EAC plans to continue working on events and projects for the future including youth summer camps, art walks, the National Juried Show and the Mayors Art Show.  

Event Story

Solutions Journalism

Oregon school districts on average fail meeting higher education benchmarks for special education students

Students with disabilities have been overlooked in the education system, categorically lumped into one presumed model of what it looks like to be a special needs student.

 Liam Russell, a first-year student at Oregon State University, was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic degradation of muscle mass. Through his K-12 public education in Oregon, he describes seeing a definitive medical and social approach to what defines being disabled.

“The social model for me is that if society was perfect, and as things were built differently, disabilities wouldn't actually be an issue,” Russell says, “If all things were inherently accessible, or things were just designed in a way that was focused on accessibility, disability wouldn't really be disability?”

 He says, medically, disabilities are defined as “diagnosed, treated or gotten rid of” something that society needs to combat rather than accept.

Students with mental and physical disabilities bear the weight of communities' lack of knowledge in what services and supports are needed in reaching post-secondary outcomes. Of the 197 school districts in Oregon, only six surpass the current benchmarks for special education students reaching higher education.

 Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities are federally funded across the country for special education services. Students with disabilities are required access to a “free and public education,” FAPE, under federal law that freely provides special education designed to meet each individual's needs.

 Special education students are allocated an individualized education plan, written as a specific design for the child’s schooling experience including annual goals, transition planning and accommodation services.

 To qualify for an IEP, a student’s disability must adversely interfere with how they perform at school. Students with disabilities are defined by IDEA under 13 categories ranging from intellectual, physical and cognitive impairments.

Oregon sets academic benchmarks to quantify progress students are making. The Oregon Department of Education is responsible for setting the values assigned for each benchmark. For 2020-2021 the target for special education students reaching higher education was set at 32% in Oregon.

 Eric Wells, Director of IDEA Programs at ODE, explains the benchmarks are based on indicators and predictors. Indicators measure the compliance and effectiveness of a state’s implementation of IDEA. There are 17 Part B indicators required to report on to the Office of Special Education Programs. Indicators 13 and 14 focus on secondary transitions with an IEP and post-school outcomes.

 “We try to build our engagement, less around, where do we set the numbers for the targets and more around, how do we support quality and special education in Oregon?” Wells says, “And what does that look like, if a target were to be set there?  How well are we preparing learners with IEPs for life after high school?”

 Every six years, targets are established for all 17 indicators in Part B. OSEP requires stakeholder input be included in shaping these goals. This community engagement is sought out through social media, listservs and partnerships with advocacy or nonprofit organizations, like FACT Oregon, in obtaining Oregon voices.

 “It can be challenging because folks have a lot to do. And so, talking to us about what number we should put on a form isn't high on the list of a lot of people's priorities,” said Wells.

 Better preparing school districts in meeting these students' needs is essential and can be better understood through feedback from students who were on IEPs. Sally Simich, Secondary Transition Education Specialist for ODE, says each district is required to contact all students who exited their school on IEP for a post-school outcome interview survey. From the 2019-2020 school year, the response rate was just over 57%.

 According to 2020-21 ODE data, Sherwood School District is one of the six surpassing the benchmark in special education students reaching higher education at 40%.

 Simich says students accounted for in the district’s data must be enrolled at least part-time at a community college, four-year university or an alternative education program and must have completed one term.

 “Not only are we promoting an inclusive community, but we're also helping students to develop to be in the driver's seat of their future,” says Eryn Gonzales Randles, Director of Student Services for Sherwood School District. “They're making choices. They're developing an understanding of what they want to do and the goals that they have for their future.”

 As soon as special education students enter the school system, Sherwood School District initiates preparation for post-secondary life. Gonzales Randles says their district focuses on “mutual benefits, meaningful inclusion and building independence,” where special education students are in general education classrooms, provided personal learning specialists and being partnered with community businesses for work opportunities.

 “We are really proud of our graduation rates, but the reason why they are so good is not because we focus on getting students to graduate, it's because we focus on helping them prepare for life after graduation,” Gonzales Randles says. “That’s the story we don’t get to tell very often.”

 The district focuses on student’s desires rather than credits or “getting through.” State Senator Sara Gelser Blouin works to pass bills that support students with disabilities.

 “When they're in those regular education classes, people start to see their potential and what they can do,” says Gelser Blouin. “When my son goes out, people know he had these rigorous requirements that he had to meet that were really challenging for him. And he has more skills and knowledge.”

 Russell says it is challenging to combat the stereotypes created for students with disabilities, often stemming from a lack of understanding of the wide variety of impairments and how those impact the individual.

 “It's always assumed that any kind of disability must also be any kind of visible disability that must also be a mental disability,” he says. “But once you get into college, there's that filter of you had to be accepted to get here, you had to pass something it’s much less stigmatized.”

 In 2007, Gelser Blouin created her first bill, standardizing modified diplomas. This forms a set of guidelines for eligibility including a history of inability, informed consent from the student or parent and the student must begin the modified diploma process in middle school. 

 She says ODE had written the modified diploma requirements with a focus on learning disabilities, prioritizing specific classes such as a math credit, to be modified. It made the modified diploma inaccessible for those with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

 “Higher education success ultimately is dependent on correcting the inequities in K-12” says Gelser Blouin. “They're absolutely invisible.”

 Across the country other school districts face the same challenges of knowing how to approach a curriculum best suited for special education students.

 According to the Midland Daily News in Michigan, Midland Public Schools Director of Special Education, Jessica Brunsell, says they provide IEPs, resource rooms, collaborative spaces for students with behavioral needs and social work. But she urges for a larger push to have special education students learning in general education rooms and the need for transition specialists.

 Meghan Jackson is the Youth Transition Program Specialist at Sherwood High School. Oregon’s YTP aims to provide direct support for post-secondary options for special education students, currently serving 120 high schools out of 471 in the state. 

 “We are very proud of the fact that here at Sherwood high school, we mainstream our students with disabilities to the fullest extent that we can,” says Jackson. “Many are placed in all regular core and elective courses.”

 Sherwood prioritizes specialized staffing, rather than creating programs delegated for special education students. Instructional assistants are assigned by the student’s case managers and work alongside students in the classroom to aid in completing and comprehending the assignments, and manage additional accommodations as needed.

 In elementary school students are assessed to pinpoint individual challenges, continuing the assessments into middle school. Beginning in middle school, through high school, students have intimate discussions of post-secondary goals and areas of career or educational interests. Students are incorporated in general education, while being provided special support to their disabilities, rather than segregated into a different learning environment.

 “It's not unusual to have a society or a culture where we function together, and we learn independence and skills together,” says Gonzales Randles.

 Jackson meets with students at least once a week for career and skill assessment, and job or college exploration. She follows a step-by-step process to show them what specification, training or programs they need prior to entering a specific job field or school. In building independence, she says she also teaches skills like studying for a driver's permit, or what to do with a paycheck.

 Funding these roles is limiting as understaffing exists as a persistent issue in education. YTP specialists are partly funded through the Vocational Rehabilitation Services of Oregon and the districts fund the remainder.

 “If the school doesn’t have a transition specialist that might not be getting done. I think it's educating high schools about the benefits of a transition specialist,” says Jackson. “It's a matter of the school deciding that there's a value in having that person fulfilling a position, which definitely sets us aside or apart from other districts. I feel like that's a really helpful tool to be able to have someone there to help bridge a lot of that networking.”

 Jackson can work with students until they are 21-years-old, following up with parents and students who have entered post-secondary school or careers. She says, Portland Community College, University of Oregon and George Fox University have been receptive to her networking for students.

 “Their parents can constantly check in with me whenever they have a question. Whether the question is how to register, or how to contact an advisor, or how to connect with Disability Services. I'm just constantly helping them when they need it post-graduation,” says Jackson.

 “As a parent, it's very confusing. There are so many different pieces,” says Laura Dahill, Media and Communications Director at The Arc of Lane County. “When my son was in middle school, I started attending training, just to start familiarizing myself with this process. Education needs to happen when parents are young.”

 Parents familiarizing themselves with what already exists to support their children is a critical factor in their future successes. Russell says when he was diagnosed, the doctors resigned to informing his parents he would not be able to do much, to which they challenged why it had to be that way.

 “It was really beneficial as a child to have these two people who are very, very strong, in public opinion, opinionated information, rather than someone just assimilating with what's going on,” he says.

 Dahill says progress in helping special education students achieve reaching college is limited by their familial support systems. Parents and guardians of children with disabilities are often ill-informed on the capabilities, services and supports offered.

 “With the students that I work with, yeah, a lot of times I think they themselves or even their parents are not sure if they can go to college,” says Jackson “And the answer is, yes, you can. I think they feel that because they have a disability maybe they won't be able to attend college, but that's not true at all.”

 Oftentimes people with disabilities are seen fulfilling jobs, which Dahill calls, “the three f’s: filth, food or floral” stemming from a societal limited mindset of their skill sets. She says, each individual disability needs to be assessed and considered to best prepare them for their role in the workforce or higher education.

 “When my son was diagnosed, I went into a car dealership, and I was sitting there and there was a gentleman obviously with a disability. He was emptying trash and I went home, and I told my husband ‘I just want more for my son,’” she says. “He enlightened me and said, ‘You know, thank God, that company hired that gentleman.”

 Given the right support systems, students with disabilities can be successful, but those opportunities must be carved out for them, says Dahill.

 Gelser Blouin says she has been fighting for special education students’ access to school. Within the last few years, against federal law, students have been denied full time instruction as their general education peers have. In February, she proposed a bill that ODE must enforce the law against the school and provide students with their education, but with support of the legislature, the bill died.

 “The governor and leaders should be screaming from the rooftops about how wrong this is and shaming districts into complying with the law because it's a complete violation of these kids' civil rights,” says Gelser Blouin. “It's frustrating for me to continue to write laws to say that districts need to comply with the law.”

 She says that these students cannot be equipped for higher education, without an access to primary education to begin with and will be reinstating the bill that died, urging ODE to enforce special education students’ access to education.

 “If they're allowed to go, we don't give them access to education. We silo them into classrooms with other kids that are struggling, and we don't empower them. We restrain them, we seclude them, we tell them about their failures, and we exclude them from school,” says Gesler Blouin.

 Gonzales Randles says they continue to work with families through their parent partnership programs to educate and reinforce the best solutions in helping their children reach their goals.

 “People come in with a perception that you have to advocate, which is never a bad thing, but advocating doesn't mean we have to battle,” she says. “My role is to just dismiss that notion.”

 Over the last decade of working at Sherwood High School, Jackson says their achievements have been consistent and continued to grow. The 2018-2019 benchmarks show in previous years a success in special education students reaching higher education, workforce and workforce training.

 “I think if we continue to educate the community and families more, we can make that just part of the culture that they know colleges are attainable,” she says. “Don't be afraid to go for it.”

Profile Story

Downtown Eugene Za Cart Pizza

Shuffling towards the picnic table stood a boisterous man, dripping head-to-toe in tie-dye, holding a beer mug sloshing with freshly brewed tea.

 “Are you hungry?” he said. “Are you sure you can’t fit a slice?"

 Jeff Letey, owner of Za Cart Pizza, operates his food truck every day in hopes to heal people with food. He is on a mission to spread, “food love,” with his newfound positive attitude baked fresh daily into yeasty pizza dough.

 “The energy from people and how they are doing, you can feel it in the dough,” said Letey. “If I am excited to get out of here and hang out with my kids, I can have a batch of dough made like nothing, and if I’m negative and ego-trippin’ it can take hours.”

 His prior relationship came to an end, creating new beginnings through pizza.

 “I thought I had life figured out and she pointed out to me that I was not as smart as I thought I was, and I finally looked in the mirror and saw that” said Letey. “She went gluten-free the day I opened up the pizza cart.”

 Growing up he considered three career pathways: a professional football player, lawyer and chef. Upon evaluating his realities of hating the government and lacking athletic abilities, he settled with the comforts of cooking.

 After a year of tinkering with the logistics, Za Cart Pizza came to life.

 “A buddy and I wanted to do a food business and we found the pizza ovens, so we decided to go with pizza,” said Letey. “It was 500 bucks a month, transforming a 1975 travel trailer into a food cart.”

 His son, Allium Letey-Moore, is one of many familial support systems that shapes the ideals of Za Cart Pizza. Letey serves his kids pizza nearly every day after school, sometimes spending hours talking at the cart.

 “Just before the cart opened, we invited a bunch of friends over and we made pizza, testing out different recipes until we found the best one,” said Letey-Moore. “It was cool to start the business surrounded by friends.”

 Mark Dunn, owner of Nature’s Pet Market, stumbled upon Za Cart Pizza nearly 5 years ago and took a chance on trying it.

 “He is a wonderful man, incredibly warm, abundantly generous and funny as hell,” said Dunn. “I’ve seen him give food to people who had no money, they say never mind, but he’ll bring it to their car anyways.”

 This sense of community helped form a basis for his barter and trade business practices. When he first launched his restaurant, the demographic of his customers was heavily dominated by marijuana growers. Letey began creating, “pizza magic,” allowing for an exchange of marijuana for pizza.

 “It started as more of a game, wondering what I could trade pizza for, now it’s based on what I need, and I always mention to people if they want to trade pizza,” said Letey.

 The City of Eugene’s Zoning Map indicates that Za Cart Pizza is in a major commercial zoned area, surrounded by businesses like Jamaica Joel’s dispensary and Big City Gamin’ allowing him to make progress in trade. Many neighboring businesses are interested in trading direct services and goods.

 “My goal is to issue a physical coin that people will collect to come get their slice of pizza [as a trade],” said Letey. By recycling leftover cans and shotgun shells, he will be able to make customized currency named, “Analog Crypto.”

From cars, appliances, drugs to sex toys, Letey has traded pizza for just about anything. Being the best businessman has never been a priority for him.

 “In terms of the basic stuff I don’t give a ­f­--- about it, so as long as it makes me enough money to keep doing what I do and support my kids then I’m good with it,” said Letey.

 Pizzas are being made to order, with freshly bought ingredients all day long. From daily specials to customizable pies packed with produce, hardy meats and gooey cheeses, Letey shows the true value of homemade food.

 “So many people from younger generations didn’t grow up with made from scratch meals and ate packaged, premade things,” said Letey. “I didn’t realize how much healing people needed through food.”

 Outside of spreading, “pizza love,” Za Cart Pizza has acted as a transformative opportunity to clear his ego-filled mindset and now live with a more humbled attitude.

 “I think there is love and energy that comes through my food,” said Letey. “That’s why this s--- doesn’t taste like Papa John’s.”

Feature Story

Assistance League Nonprofit Thrift Store

Beneath a cobalt blue awning, double doors slammed shut with a lingering echo of jingle bells. A moment of silence was partnered by a volunteer’s crooked smile, beaming across an arm’s-length distance to the shopper.

“I like your hair,” said the customer. It was a luminescent shade of periwinkle, mimicking the colors bubbles radiate while floating through sunshine.

“Why thank you, it’s my new blue shampoo,” she replied as her icy blue eyes, encompassed by tortoise frames, locked eye contact. “And well, look at your makeup, that’s fantastic. Did you do it yourself?”

Vibrant conversations between workers and patrons were mixed with piercing sounds of metal hangers scraping across the clothing racks. Bodies filling the aisles, contouring themselves around the angular displays, shuffling between colorful arrays of cotton and denim.

The Assistance League of Eugene is a nonprofit thrift store located in downtown Eugene, Oregon, since 1973. Through its chapter membership, they are a fully volunteer run, national organization that partners with local groups to serve the community.

Patty Parks, the Chair of Marketing and Communications at ALE, says retiree age members make up most of the staff, often looking for ways to fill their time. Members working jobs outside of the thrift shop are given leniency for the time they are required to volunteer.

“We are dedicated to providing programs which enhance the quality of our life in our community,” said Parks. She joined the organization in 2010 while dually working as a job developer for Specialized Support Services, helping those with special needs find employment.

“We have a large membership, not everybody is actively involved. But that being said, you get a real variety of individuals coming with different ideas about community needs. That's a good thing,” she said, reciting these ideals multiple times.

Operation School Bell is the current leading program dedicated to providing new or used clothing to students from low-income families. Children are referred by their school counselors to receive support. A $100 voucher is allocated per child, obtainable for the month, to purchase new clothing necessities at Fred Meyer.

“They're very proud to have something that makes them feel like they're like everybody else. That it's not secondhand clothing, but it's something that they get to choose,” said Parks. “They get to choose and feel a little more accepted in their peer groups.”

Prior to COVID, volunteers held what they called a “shopping night” giving families a few hours to come in and buy their items. The mass influx of shoppers was unmanageable, as transactions are only processed through the customer service desk. Now families can shop throughout the month at their convenience.

“Some of us miss actually being able to interact with the kids and their families, when they come to shop. We're kind of losing that piece of it,” said Parks. “But we understand that it's also not about us, it's about the kids. It feels good for us too but it's not just about making us feel good.”

Neighboring organizations benefit from these member’s helping hands. Bags of Love — a nonprofit creating care packages for children suffering abuse, neglect, poverty, homelessness and disaster — currently receive support from volunteers at ALE.

“I wish I could say that all nonprofits really tried to have this collaborative, connected relationship, it doesn't always happen. It's one of my favorite things when it can be a two-way street, and when we can help each other out,” said Becky Stenzel, the Executive Director at Bags of Love. “It just feels like that's how it should be happening. It’s a really powerful win-win all the way around.”

Members of ALE contact Bags of Love to create an inventory of goods being sought out for care packages. Stenzel says this allows for specific items to be pinpointed efficiently and placed into their hand-crafted bags. Each child receives items that are customized to their age and gender including toiletries, clothing, toys, blankets and comfort items.

“It is the nicest group of ladies, and they have a really positive impact on the community,” said Stenzel. “You find that some of the kindest, most empathetic people are the ones who give their time to nonprofits.”

Many of the associates, dressed in sapphire aprons, laugh boisterously behind the registers. With a calculator in hand, one volunteer utters, “$3 women’s, $5 women’s,” delicately folding a pair of gray velour sweatpants. Standing in line, eager to buy a pair of brown yoga pants, I ask to clarify their status as volunteers, “That’s right we don’t get any pay for this, no glory, no trophies,” said Larena Sullivan, manning the register.

Chris Bales has served multiple positions at the ALE, currently serving as the Operation School Bell Chair. She says these programs can help children feel comfortable and encouraged to pursue their education because of the social element. Bales recounts middle school boys spending the entire $100 voucher on a pair of sneakers with an Oregon Ducks sweatshirt, just so they could look like the others at school.

“My feeling is that if I'm going to volunteer, I want to volunteer for an organization that it's worth putting my time into,” said Bales. “It's nice to belong to an organization that actually does something in the community.”

Within Eugene, Mary K Williams, Vice President of Philanthropic Programs, says that it is evident that those choosing to join their team genuinely want to be there. William says she notices an influx in second-hand shoppers, developing a better understanding of the benefits of buying used items. As the foot-traffic increases, she hopes that membership does as well.

“Don't think you have to be all in. You can do some stuff and feel good about it,” said Williams. “There is flexibility.”