6 jMSft out f march 19.1999
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R econstruction = R esurrection ?
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7819 SE Stark St.
Portland, OR 97215
258-2920
North
Portland
Veterinary
Hospital
ost notably, Phoenix Rising Founda­
tion board members fix:used on their
effort to forge an agreement with N et­
work Behavioral HealthCare Inc., a nonprofit
agency that provides an array of mental health
services.
During the community meeting it became
apparent there were many prospective Phoenix
Rising supporters who would not cut a check to
the agency— no matter how desperately it need­
ed the support— unless some gut-level changes
occurred.
In short, it was clear the agency’s credibility,
and hence its future, was precariously perched—
and remains so.
“1 feel so betrayed and deceived,” says Patti
May, a founding board member of Phoenix Ris­
ing, who helped launch the agency in the late
1970s hy raising funds via Saturday Night Fever
disco parties and other funky initiatives.
“They knew for months what was going on
hut didn’t tell us. They solicited donations dur­
ing that time,” says an incredulous May, weeks
after the revelations emerged. “Until there is a
full accounting of what happened, there will be
no credibility.”
Her statement is echoed by others with
whom Just Out spoke.
“ People want an organization they can
trust,” May concludes.
Care, which has served the Portland area since
1980. Network’s programs include Roots and
Branches, which provides counseling and out­
reach services to sexual minority young people.
According to Phoenix Rising board member
Jerry Keene, Network is a larger, more sophisti­
cated agency with many checks and balances,
and greater expertise with managed-care issues.
He says the organization is equipped to handle
contract reporting requirements, insurance and
client billing, and record keeping and monitor­
ing.
Keene, a Portland attorney, adds that his
board is still hammering out a contractual agree­
ment with Network, which will detennine what
role each entity is to play in the other’s realm.
He says board members are exploring
whether it’s possible Phoenix Rising can remain
viable and as independent as possible. And
they’re pondering whether Phoenix Rising
needs to close up shop for good.
"A nd we’re looking at everything in
between,” he tells Just Out.
That includes simply contracting with N et­
work to handle administrative duties, or shifting
Phoenix Rising’s office into a Network facility
in order to save on rent, or giving Network more
control, by allowing some of its representatives
onto the Phoenix Rising board, or moving away
’m a generalist as an executive director.”
It’s March 16— nine days before Allanya
Guenther is slated to leave her post at Phoenix
Rising, and she’s explaining why she is stepping
down. “Part of my job is to assess what the
agency needs,” she adds.
And what it needs, she reflects, must come
from someone else, someone finely attuned to
the ways of managed care, the nitty-gritty details
of billing and accounting, as well as the myriad
rules and regulations involving the insurance
industry— all of which make for an increasingly
complex world for a little, independent non­
profit to contend with.
And Guenther’s no fool. She understands
community confidence in Phoenix Rising has
been greatly undermined— if not irreparably
shattered in some circles. She knows that if trust
is to be rebuilt, she must leave.
Replacing her is Judy Watson, who has expe­
rience as a clinician and administrator in behav­
ioral health operations. Watson, who will
become interim executive director of Phoenix
Rising, works for Network Behavioral Health-
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Like any family member
our pets need good healthcare.
At North Portland Veterinary
Hospital, we provide the very
for hosting a teriffic Just
Friends Singles Party.
best medical care along with
big doses of tenderness
and compassion.
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285-0462
2009 N.Killingsworth
from providing adult clinical services and focus­
ing more on youth support programs.
Incorporated as a nonprofit agency in 1978,
Phoenix Rising Foundation promotes “the com­
mon interests and well-being of lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transsexual people through mental
health, education and other support services,”
according to its mission statement.
The agency provides an assortment of adult,
youth and HIV counseling services, and runs
the Sexual Minority Youth Recreation Center, a
Portland drop-in facility for queer kids.
“In the early days, the adult clinical services
were used more, but that seems to be changing
as the profession as a whole seems to be getting
more gay-friendly,” explains Keene.
And perhaps more people are more at ease
with their sexual orientation. Additionally,
fewer people are accessing Phoenix Rising’s
HIV-related services.
“Times are changing,” he says. “We need to
look at what our mission is. Is it the same as
when Phoenix Rising first started? Maybe
n ot.... We just don’t have the answer right
now."
Watson, meanwhile, says she will manage
contracts, program development and oversee
day-to-day operations and work to develop “a
solid business plan."
Perhaps her toughest mission will be to “keep
the spirit alive,” as she puts it
Yet she appears optimistic, believing trust
will be regained once the public sees that steps
are being taken to restructure the agency.
“It will help,” she predicts.
107 SE Grand • East End of the Burnside Bridge • (541) 232-2000
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