12 ▼
m a rc h 2 1 , 1 0 9 7 ▼
ju s t o u t
The Natural G ift
W h a t's new a t LCP
PERSIAN RUGS
The failing organization is getting a shot in the arm from
local activists and an Arkansas women ys group
Portland’s Finest Selection of
New/Old Persian & Other
Oriental Rugs, Tribal Kilims,
Bags & Pillows
▼
by Inga Sorensen
WE BUY OLD RUGS
248-9511
901 SW WASHINGTON ST.
Mon-Sat 10-6 Surr 12-5
i '
. y
\
DUTCH TUCH ACRES
dnæy aDwm®dl æmafl ®np®n°£rtl®dl8
• Native plants
• Fruit, nut, shade and
flowering trees
• perennials and shrubs
• ORGANIC CONTROLS!!
LANDSCAPE DESIGN and
MAINTENANCE AVAILABLE!!
No tax to Oregon buyers!!
From Interstate 5, take Exit #16 to La Center,
cross the bridge, turn right on 4th S t., left on
Highland Ave. 2.9 mi. through S curves
to 369th S t., left on
NE 369th St. and then left
,263-1505>
on NE 31st Ave.
Hours: Fri. Sat. 9-6, Sun11-5
36009 NE 31st Ave, La Center, WA
ju s t
o u t
W
local news
/
IX> fragrances
Custom Scenting
Aromatherapy
Women and
MenisSlcin Cane
Cards & Wrapping
Bath • Spa • foot Care
Home fragrance
Gift Baskets
n effort is underway to breathe life
back into the foundering Lesbian
Community Project, a Portland-based
organization currently saddled with a
$25,000 debt.
LCP board president Pam Monette says she
recently hosted a gathering of several “commu
nity leaders,” many of whom have some history
with the 10-year-old group, to discuss LCP’s
precarious monetary and organizational condi
tion.
“A lot of people didn’t realize how bad things
were,” she says.
Over the past few months, LCP staff—includ
ing its executive director, LaVeme Lewis—have
been laid off due to financial troubles.
According to Monette, LCP has been— like
many nonprofits—dangerously grant dependent,
A
Pharr founded and has been on the staff of the
Women’s Project in Arkansas since 1981. For the
past 15 years she has presented workshops on
homophobia and internalized homophobia to so
cial change organizations, schools and churches
throughout the nation.
Pharr, who now lives in Oregon, has also
authored books about homophobia and the right-
wing movement.
According to Pharr, one of the Women’s
Project’s purposes is to help selected struggling
social change organizations get back on their feet.
LCP apparently fits the bill, and Pharr says the
Women’s Project, which promotes a multi-issue/
multiracial philosophy, will fund her half-time
position.
“Our initial plan will be to develop a new
board, establish a leadership team and retire the
Whatever the occasion
ECCENTIAL
l O)
lotions & oils
7IO NW 2 }rd Avenue • 1+8-97+8
^ 8 SE H aw thorne S tre e t • 2J>6-797&
O M
WELCOMES i N t “ m
E N
u
$ i <
M A R IA PIANIST
N N E PAUL
FAITH
FU
LL
TRUEBLOOD
FEATURING
HOLLY FRI.
NEAR
APRIL 18
P J P
JONATHA BROOKE (
THUR. MAY 8 ».
THE LAURA LOVE BAND
PHOTO BY USA JOHNSON
SAT. MARCH 22
Suzanne Pharr
while at the same time unable to develop a viable
community base of support.
To compound problems, board representation
and support dwindled, forcing office hours to be
dramatically slashed. (The chances of actually
reaching someone at the group’s Union Station
headquarters became spotty at best.)
Monette says in mid-February she invited to
her home several community members, including
Kathleen Saadat, Marcy Westerling, Suzanne
Pharr and Jack (formerly known as Linda Shirley),
to discuss LCP’s status and seek advice about
what to do.
“I’ve said this before: Things are different
than they were a decade ago. LCP used to be the
only game in town. That’s not the case anymore,”
Monette says, adding that one primary question
pondered by the group was whether LCP should
continue to exist at all.
"The resounding answer was yes," she says.
And the wheels are already turning. Come April
1, longtime activist and author Suzanne Pharr will
become an LCP staff member.
debt,” she says, adding that young women and
women of color in particular are being sought to
fill board positions.
As for what happens after that, both Pharr and
Monette say it’s simply too early to know whether
the direction of LCP, which historically has been
a social and advocacy organization, will shift.
LCP’s current mission, in part, is to “promote
the well-being of the lesbian community through
a grass-roots organization with an evolving multi
issue, multicultural perspective.”
Over the years the group has sponsored a
number of projects, including its Anti-Violence
Project, which documents reported bias and hate
crimes against sexual minorities; a Lesbian Health
Project, which includes support groups for lesbi
ans with breast cancer and other diseases; a speak
ers’ bureau; a newsletter; various dances and
social activities; as well as lesbian dragon boat,
softball and "Race for the Cure” teams.
For more information, contact LCP at
223-0071 or Monette at 284-0722.