ju s t ou t f so p to m b o r 15, 199 5 ▼ 3
V»
Confusion aired
To the Editor:
As a Washingtonian, I appreciated your cov­
erage in the Aug. 18 issue of Just Out on the death
of Washington state Sen. Cal Anderson. Many of
us in Southwest Washington had worked with Cal
on issues important to the gay and lesbian com­
munities throughout this state.
However, early in the article I was confused by
your describing Sen. Anderson as having become
“Washington’s first openly gay European Ameri­
can public official upon his election to the state
House in 1988.”
First, did I miss something? Was there a non-
European American openly gay public official in
Washington prior to Cal Anderson’s assuming
office? I have been actively involved in Washing­
ton state gay/lesbian politics for the past eight
years and have heard and read many references to
Cal Anderson having been the state’s first openly
gay elected official—irrespective of ethnic back­
ground.
Secondly, just to clarify, Anderson was first
appointed to his house seat and then won the
election to that seat in 1988.
Jess Durfee
Vancouver, Wash.
Editor’s note: Long ago, Just Out established
a policy to shake assumptions based on white
p riv ile g e and get p e o p le thinking a b o u t
marginalized groups and how racism is institu­
tionalized in this society. In the mainstream U.S.
media, i f the ethnicity o f a person is not mentioned
it is assumed that that person is European Ameri­
can. I f it wouldn’t create an editorial quagmire,
we would identify everyone’s ethnicity in every
article. Instead, it is our policy that when the
ethnicity o f an individual is mentioned in an
article the ethnicity o f all individuals in the article
must be mentioned. In this instance, we referred
to City Commissioner Sherry Harris as African
American, which made it necessary, in order to
adhere to our policy, to refer to Anderson as
European American. We should have mentioned
Anderson’s ethnicity somewhere else in the ar­
ticle, where it would have been less confusing.
Giving credit where due
To the Editor:
It was heartening to see coverage of youth
concerns in the Sept. 1 issue of Just Out, and in
particular I was glad to see space given to the good
work Kathy Beige has been doing as a case
manager/support person. Her position is part of an
ever-growing web of services, however, and I’d
like to give credit to some of the others working to
support the younger members of our community.
When I first started working with lesbian, gay
and bisexual youth four years ago, “youth ser­
vices” in Portland consisted of one support group,
Windfire, sponsored by Phoenix Rising. We’ve
had astonishing growth since then. Now there are
six groups sponsored by a variety of agencies:
Harry’s Mother, Outside In, the Urban League,
and Phoenix Rising. Outside In has an HIV-
prevention program aimed at our youth. Harry’s
Mother is working on a program to keep our kids
in school. Roots and Branches offers counseling
to individuals and families regardless of ability to
pay. Outside In and Roots and Branches are
collaborating to begin counseling groups later
this month to assist youth affected by drug and
alcohol use, either their own or that of those
around them. Portland hosts a conference to edu­
cate teachers and others on the needs of sexual
minority youth, this year to be held Oct. 13-14. To
be sure, there are gaps in what is available— for
transgendered youth, for young people ages 21-
23, and spiritually oriented groups, to name a
few—but youth have many more opportunities to
feel understood and included than only a few
short years ago.
A year ago, Harry ’ s Mother, Outside In, Phoe­
nix Rising and Roots and Branches collaborated
to develop the position Just Out described, [a
position] which is now housed at Roots and
Branches. This collaboration has been a rich ex­
perience, both for me and, I believe, for the youth
we serve. Because of it, the case manager/support
person has ongoing contact with all the programs
described above, and can meet with youth at a
variety of locations. And because of it, we have
come together to continue to create the vision of
a better world for the next generation.
I also have a few corrections I’d like to make
to Just Out’s article. Roots and Branches is not
itself a nonprofit agency; it is a program of the
Network, a community mental health agency.
Friends are important to have in all places; I
believe it is important to acknowledge larger,
mainstream organizations willing to go out on a
limb and support our community. And not to nit-
pick, but only $30,000 has been contracted with
Roots and Branches to fund Kathy’s post; if it
were $40,000 as reported, she would be able to
provide her services full time and be there for
even more of our young people.
And keep covering youth issues, please! Our
young people need to see their concerns in print to
feel that we include them as part of our commu­
nity.
I AM COMMUTED TO MAXIMIZING YOUR RECOVERY
T ra v e l th e w o r ld ,
b u t c a ll us firs t...
I n tr o d u c tio n
"Aromatherapy o f Rome" candles.
Seven "therapies" including
M editation, Sensual and
Rejuvenating.
C O M PA N Y
$
232-5944
1 8 0 0 232-5944
-
Ruth Gibian
Program Coordinator
Roots and Branches
A ll natural, long burning.
-
1939 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland
2.50 - $34
C i t y o f P a r is
2426 NE Broadway
(503) 284-3720
Concerning loss and
how to cope
To the Editor:
This is in response to your article [“No End to
the Grieving,” Just Out, Aug. 4,1995] concerning
loss and how to cope with it all.
I lost my partner of 13 years in January 1989.
He had been ill with AIDS for nearly two years.
During this time I was having problems sleeping.
The two of us had joined a 24-hour health club, so
I started to go swimming— at 3:30 in the morning!
This was a big help. I returned after about an hour
and slept very well. I am retired now, but I still
keep that date with the swimming pool three days
a week. In short, any exercise is very helpful.
Also, volunteer. I volunteer for events spon­
sored by the Northwest AIDS Foundation, this is
sort of an “on call” type of volunteer activity. For
a more regular type I am on the hotline (counsel­
ing line) for the Seattle Counseling Service for
Sexual Minorities. This is always interesting and
challenging, and takes me outside of myself and
allows me to focus more on others. In short,
volunteer. It gets you out of the house and also lets
you meet new people in a positive setting.
And I keep in touch with old friends, particu­
larly those who live in other cities and states. I
keep up a fairly large correspondence and a now-
and-again diary.
And, if possible, a pet or pets help a great deal.
I have two cats and I talk to them a lot—and they
talk back. We have a great time.
I guess this sort of echoes what Sandra Jacoby
Klein [recommended] in [the] excellent article,
but one other thing, walk a lot. During this time
Steve was so ill, and I was still working at the
bank, I took every break— left the building and
walked for 15 to 20 minutes. Walking always
seems to clear the mind a bit and, again, it’s
exercise.
David Barker
Seattle
MiHynn
’s Hcuse "fold Word
Fall is in the air, and the Portland housing market is still sizzling!
Buying or selling real estate? Let me give you a hand.
As YOUR community real estate professional I can gently guide
you through every step of the buying & selling process!
▼ BUYERS, as an experienced BUYER'S BROKER I'll help you find your
dream home or investment at the best price & will represent you & your
interests from the initial negotiations through every step to closing.
▼ SELLERS, I can put my top marketing & sales experience to work for
you. I'll price your home for optimum return, & see that it gets the
broadest possible exposure in the full marketplace, (even nationally
on my new tollfree line!) ...Yes, I'm "high tech", but s tiljjin touch".
V CALL NOW to schedule your
FREE CONSULTATION !
Ill
jnc.
S T
▼ OUT on Broadway
l
2100 NE Broadway, Suite 1-B
Portland, OR 97232
503-287-9632, x122 (24 hr volcemall/pager)
res. 234-6255 ▼ cellular 318-1455
fax 503-284-1618
OUT of the area? 1-800-825-9948
e-mail: millynnj @aol.com
Jam es, coi
▼
Associate Broker
vour real estate professional
▼ Specializing in classic & restorable homes in
Portland's established neighborhoods, close-in...
▼ See me in the classifieds for this issue's selected listings ▼