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| Former Multnomah County Commissioner Sharron Kelley, an early and vocal advocate for the Children’s Receiving Center, and husband Larry (left), share a moment with Multnomah County’s Director of Aging and Disability Services, Jim McConnell. MID-COUNTY MEMO PHOTO BY TIM CURRAN |
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We’ll take away their nightmares, and restore their dreams
Opperman put it slightly differently, saying the “surrounding community engaged in thoughtful dialogue,” while offering continued support for the children.” He added, “We’re committed to be good neighbors.”
The center will be a place for “children who have lost their dreams, who come here with nightmares. We’ll take their nightmares away and restore their dreams,” said Opperman. “We’ll provide a caring place for our most vulnerable citizens.”
Saltzman began, “Who would think that a building built by the government could exude such compassion?” He said that the center would be “a place where children can be removed from their private hell, their suffering at the hands of Mom’s boyfriend.” He thanked contributors, including the Shoals Heights Elementary School students who collected $1,000 in pennies for the project. “I’m sure there will be plenty more when they see the way we treat these poor and neglected children.”
Schrunk mentioned the negotiations that went into the agreements that ultimately made the center possible. “This is a dream that’s come true through a lot of hard work,” he said. “It’s you folks out there that put all this together. I saw people who don’t normally do it check egos at the door and think of the kids.”
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