Buffalo Criterion, 1986-01-23

              niagara region rochester thursday january 23-29 1986 the buffalo criterion serving working leading in wny inner cities since 1923 antmrvn mmm%mmvammwa ———————— price i only 20 j per copy i wny's necessary minority newspaper - featuring paid legitimate circulation vol 61 — no 4 committee dedicated to prevention of sexual crimes reports of sexual crimes in erie county continue to increase more than half of reported victims are children still only one in 10 victims report this crime to police agencies sexual assault touches men women and children in every community and every age group aware ness that it can happen to you is the first step in prevention common sense safety precautions can then help reduce one's vulnerability the erie county citi zens committee on rape and sexual assault is dedicated to prevention through public education speakers are available to inform your organization about the facts of rape sexual assault and child sexual abuse prevention and available services if you would like a speaker for your organiza tion please call 846-7879 or write the erie county citizens committee on rape and sexual assault 95 franklin st room 230 buffalo n y 14202 institute of christian education slated march 24-28 the 1986 institute of christian education sponsored by the board of christian education of st john baptist church 184 goodell st in buffalo under the pastorship of dr benjamin w smith sr will be held march 24th to 28th culminating with good friday services on friday march 28th classes will be taught by many of the outstand ing pastors in the city mrs johnnie m hod ges mrs fern beavers and deacon kelly funder burk are co-chairper sons mrs mary alice brown is the chairperson of the board of christian education new study finds 26 of n.y.'s children in poverty one out of every four children in new york state is living in poverty according to a report issued wednesday by statewide youth advocacy inc sya new york's childhood poverty rate is four percent higher than the national figure the report states that between 1980 and 1983 the number of impoverished youth in new york state grew by 350,000 bringing the total to well over 1.2 million the sya report shattered lives a portrait of new york's children documents the extent to which new york state provides for its poor and minority children statewide youth advocacy is a non-profit rochester based organization which works to secure quality public services for children and youth according to eve brooks sya's executive director the rapid spread of childhood poverty can be traced directly to drastic cuts in federal programs for the poor the increasing burden of federal taxes have placed on low-income families and the rising cost of living new york state has failed to respond adequately to these changes a failure which has forced an alarming number of youth to confront poverty hunger and deprivation on a daily basis shattered lives confirms brooks statement suggesting that new york's high rate of childhood poverty is linked to inadequate public benefits and income supplements the report states that * a family of four receiving welfare benefits and food stamps from the state and federal governments still lives almost 20 below the poverty line * a family of four with a full time adult worker earning minimum wage lives 3,000 below the poverty line * food stamps provide a family of four with only 45 per person per meal * public assistance benefits reach a decreasing proportion of new york's children today 500,000 impoverished youth are not receiving benefits under the federal government's aid to families with dependent children afdc program * since 1981,100,000 new york children have had their public assistance payments reduced over 41,000 children have been cut off completely the report describes substantial gaps in the provision of health care to children new york state has the 11th highest infant mortality rate in the nation in 1983,2,856 infants died before their first birthday moreover 100,000 impoverished children in new york state lack medical insurance of any kind these youth are denied access to routine check-ups and basic immuniza tions receiving health care only in emergency situations shattered lives suggests deficienceis in numerous other types of services for children for example * only one out of every five children whose families earn less than 15,000 a year receives state subsidized day care services * twenty seven percent of new york's impoverished chidren do not receive free school lunches * over one-third of new york's students fail to graduate from high school making the state's educational system 45th in the nation in terms of graduation rate of all 50 states new york had the highest percentage of women receiving late or no prenatal care in 1982 the report also focuses on a range of issues which the state has failed to address in an effective manner these problems range from youth unemploy ment to homelessness substance abuse teen suicide and adolescent pregnancy according to brooks the failure of new york to meet the needs of such a large percentage of its children holds grave implications for the future if 35 of new york's youth are not graduating from high school then an increasing proportion of our workforce will be unable to perform the most basic tasks neglecting the needs of our children is not only ethically impermissi ble but also economically unwise many public services for children more than pay for themselves in terms of future savings for every dollar invested in immunizing children from disease brooks says the state saves 10.00 in later health care costs similarly for every dollar invested in prenatal care 3.38 are saved and for every dollar invested in day care services the state saves 3.00 in welfare expenditures new york's failure to commit sufficient resources to these and other services for children represents remarkable shorsightedness statewide youth advocacy to gether with 60 organizations from across the state is working to present five conferences concerning the quality of children's services in new york state the conferences will be held in albany on january 22 in syracuse on february 21 in rochester on feb 28th on long island on march 7 and in new york city on march 21 for information concerning the conferences or to obtain copies of shattered lives contact sya at 716 454-5419 gov cuomo targets state npc grants to 3 buffalo groups improving housing preserving neighborhoods is top priority governor mario m cuomo has announced the award of state grants to three buffalo community organizations involved in housing and neighborhood revitalization activities housing assistance cen ter of niagara frontier will receive 49,500 to aid its activities in cold springs neighborhood housing service of south buffalo will receive 58,000 and the fruitbelt redevelop ment will receive 45,502 the grants from the state's neighborhood preservation companies npc program will help fund the groups adminis trative expenses improving housing and preserving neighbor hoods are of priorities of ny 4utmlnbt niti/ti ' vitrv cuomo said the neighborhood preser vation companies pro gram which provides funding to over 200 grass roots non-profit groups in the state has resulted in thousands of improved housing units since the program began in 1977 housing assistance center of niagara frontier hac is a hud-certified housing counselling agency first funded by dhcr in 1978 hac provides a variety of counselling and other housing services for its 1985-86 contract year hac plans to conduct workshops on home repair and maintenance provide housing informaiton and counselling to tenants and new homeowners assist homeless clients to find permanent housing and develop a plan for future activities in the cold spring neighborhood neighborhood housing services of south buffalo was initially funded by dhcr in 1983 the agency concentrates its housing activities on im proving the physical con ditions of the area's taxasmg stock tnrougn i code enforcement and housing rehabilitation nhs of south buffalo conducts both exterior and interior code inspections and helps homeowners bring their buildings up to code standards by provid ing loans and grants for repairs nhs also conducts workshops on energy conservation and housing rehabilitation conducts home security audits and provides financial counsel ling fruitbelt redevel opment's primary goal is development of new hous ing in its inner city east side neighborhood fruit belt participated in a pilot project to build several low-cost modular houses and plans to construct six additional modular houses for sale to low and moderate income families other activities include housing rehabilitation using a city loan and grant program a free paint program and a summer program to clean vacant lots the neighborhood preservation .. companies program finances admin istrative and planning ex penses of non-profit or ganizations involved in preserving and improving neighborhood housing program grants are made to eligible groups on a yearly basis the program which began in 1977 is administered by the division of housing and community renewal elected worshipful master on december 9th para mount lodge 73 prince hall of free and accepted masons held its annual elections elected wor shipful master for the year 1986 was brother leon johnson brother johnson is a life-long resident of buffalo he has served in the united states military where he was honorably discharged he was employed several yars at dresser industries and over the past nine years has held a position as a buffalo firefighter brother johnson has held a long and successful membership in paramount lodge he has passed through several other elected positions in the lodge and finally into the much deserved worship ful master's position in relieving past master thorton a pleasant of that post worshipful master leon johnson extends his personal thanks to past master pleasant and all the other brethren in the lodge who have confidence enough in his wisdom commitment and abilities to elect him to such an honorable posi tion elected to serve with brother johnson are james l williams senior warden winford lucas junior warden jimmie davis secretary addison hinton treas urer and john games trustee 3-year roosevelt rhodes is chaplain brother leon johnson area civic leader receives papal blessing shown from left at a reception friday night at polonia restaurant in buffalo where joel a maten was saluted after receiving a papal blessing from pope john paul are earl waxman president of harbor linen of cherry hill new jersey honoree joel a maten president of buffalo institutional services and pendrick laundry inc don yearke chief photographer for wivb tv the honorable richard a slisz chairman of the erie county legislature and rich newberg anchorman for wivb-tv channel 4 mr maten recently met privately with his holiness at the pope's summer home castel gondolfo outside of rome italy he also met several times with poland's solidarity leader lech walesa columnist mark o riley speaks on martin luther king jr the sadistic crimes of hitler and gang was a direct attempt to dominate world wide attention and convince mankind that hitler himself had finally displaced god as the supreme ruler of this planet today adolph and bloody crew should have been dead and firmly buried but the vicious crimes waged against black south african men women and children is and has been eaual in all foul respects to hitler's butchery with the stench of this modern day horror reaching clear across the ocean to the shores of north america the birth place of modern terrorism against its black masses it was in this climate of white fear hate and greed that dr martin luther king jr was gunned down as we pay homage to our beloved leader let us never forget that no amount of candle light singing wailing verbal regrets or material wealth bestowed upon american blacks can or will ever answer for the slaughter of our dear children sisters and bro thers who have and are still being destroyed in south africa and north america martin understood too well the cruel destruction subtle dimensions of american white segre gated life at home and abroad he wanted monu ments of service and continued struggle by those who died trying to save and defend candle light songs and empty words was not his idea of a real attempt to free ourselves of our continued chains let us rejoice indeed when death and suffering is no longer our destiny