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e importance to them. He said other issues would be Eugene as a retirement location, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration. Mr. Griffin said he tried to take the time to talk to minority people about such issues as employment. He said he had no trouble attaining his job, but many minorities do. Ms. Dunn said the main issue for women in the 1990s would be the feminization of poverty. She said that in the beginning of the 1980s the National Advisory Council on Economic Opportunity predicted that by 1990 almost 100 percent of those living in poverty in America would be women and their children. She suggested that most social services in the 1990s will be provided to women and children. Ms. Dunn said these women and children will be at risk for homelessness, malnutrition, high infant mortality, and more serious debilitating diseases. She said this means there will be a greater need for social services than ever before. Ms. Dunn said one area of particular concern to the Women1s Commission is mental health services for women. She pointed out that if a woman is a substance abuser or abuses her children, she can find counseling. However, if a woman is simply the single head of a household she has few resources. She pointed out that these women are at high risk of depression because they suffer from isolation. She said the University of Oregon is reducing the size of its counseling program, which means there will be fewer volunteer counselors available. e Ms. Dunn said the Women's Commission held a forum and luncheon on the feminization of poverty last year. She said this year the commission held a forum on homelessness and its impact on women. She said that next year the Women's Commission would work with the Aging Commission on spousal impoverishment. Ms. Dunn said she learned at the forum on homelessness that 28 percent of the homeless women surveyed in Eugene were homeless because of domestic violence. She said the second major topic for the Women1s Commission would be violence against women. She said the commission had used national statistics to calculate that rape is a daily occurrence in Eugene, and that Tod Schneider of Public Safety says there were over 1,000 cases of domestic violence here. Ms. Dunn said that as of October 1, 1989, the three homicides in Eugene were all related to domestic and sexual violence. Ms. Dunn said the Women's Commission has written a grant for the Fred Meyer Charitable Trust and other corporate sponsors asking for about $11,000 to set up a women1s self-defense project. She said the one-year project would be educational with two main components: 1) the production of educational materials; and 2) the presentation of workshops on personal safety and self defense techniques. She said the commission should hear if the project has been funded by next spring. Other issues for women in the 1990s are Affirmative Action, pay equity, and reproductive rights. She concluded that in the past the public has relied on e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 20, 1989 Page 5 Dinner/Work Session --------