22 J
N iiiim m H ES iw n c ES
- A
W rite A round P ortland
Places volunteers in community centers to
facilitate weekly writing workshops with
underrepresented groups, communities
and populations.
Needs workshop facilitators, board members,
accountants, child care providers, office
assistants, people willing to hang flyers,
solicit donations and help with fund
raising events.
Contact: (5 0 3 ) 232-2246, lizwrap@aol.com
C ontmued from Page 21
Jaim e Rodriguez
Today Rodriguez tries to make things better
for teens. Each week he shows up at the Sexual
Minority Youth Recreation Center and super
vises the youths who drop in. He is supposed
to be a role model, he says, Exit he’s still
uncomfortable with that expecta
tion.
“Mostly I just talk to them
and try to be their friend," he
says.
“I believe in change, but I
know we have to partici
pate,” Rodriguez adds. “I’m
trying to be part of the
change.”
Volunteering is one of
the many ways Rodriguez
is working toward that
end. In addition to helping
SMYRC, Rodriguez helps
organize meetings for
Somos Orgullo Latino, a
social support group for
young Latino men.
Roni
Speaking with the youth is
the best part of his job,
Rodriguez says.
“Once you establish somewhat of
a relationship, or trust, when they
come and talk to you, that is the reward,”
he says.
s a young, gay Latino man who grew up in
a small Oregon town, Jaime Rodriguez
i knows what it feels like to be an outcast. It
was a time of great closeness with his family,
but one filled with
the pain of isola
tion.
N orthwest G ender
A lliance
“I couldn’t live in the same level of denial
when 1 was working with this group,” she adds.
While her role as the workshop facilitator is
part team leader and part teacher, Reitenauer
also serves as confidante.
“This helped me to appreciate really deeply
the stories and the histories each person in the
group brought and shared,” she says.
Not ordinarily in the company of a lot of
guys, Reitenauer believes the experience of
working with these men is priceless. She vol
unteers her time, but says she really doesn’t
separate work from volunteering.
“It is always about the work. I’m really
called by the work,” she explains.
Vicki Reitenauer
S e x u a l M inority Y outh
R ecreation C enter
An informal place to hang out; offers drop-in
computer access, pool tables and support
groups.
Needs board member applicants, center vol
unteers (particularly transgender and peo
ple of color).
Contact: (503) 872-9664, www.smyrc.org
Vicki R eite n a u e r
‘ hanks to Write Around Portland, Vicki
Reitenauer is able to share her passion for
writing with others. The unusual group
places volunteers in Portland’s community cen
ters to facilitate weekly writing workshops.
The goal is to serve people who wouldn’t
otherwise have the opportunity for such
a learning experience.
Reitenauer worked with six writ
ers last autumn. All had HIV
and/or AIDS. The experience
has changed her and helped her
to “get out of a box that I
think I was probably in,” she
says.
Working with people with
chronic illnesses has been a
deeply intense and emo
tional experience, Reite
nauer says.
Beatty CooC
Social and support organization for cross-
dressers, transsexuals and intersexed peo
ple, regardless of sexual orientation.
Needs anyone interested in participating and
helping with events and meetings.
Contact: (503) 646-2802,
nwga@teleport.com,
www.teleport.com/~nwga
Ron!
Jaim e Rodriguez
a real stereo store
for real music lovers
Antiques &
Treasures
fhen Roni retired in 1984 from a career
in the high-tech field, she was cross
dressing at night and window shopping
when stores were closed, she says. She felt
alone.
Today, with years of self-discovery, activism
and volunteering under her belt, Roni makes
sure those in similar circumstances can talk to
someone. Roni answers the hot line for the
Northwest Gender Alliance in her suburban
home.
because music matters.
Cycle (V W orks
We are located In Multnomah Village near
The Bridge. Call for directions.
2627 N.E. Broad w ay/Portland/ 280-0910
w w w .stereotypesau dio.com
Delivers meals to people with H IV and
A ID S , sponsored by Ecumenical
Ministries of Oregon.
Needs volunteers for various positions.
Contact: (5 0 3 ) 4 6 0 -3 8 2 2
Mark Rosenberg
O
ne week last month, Mark Rosenberg, a
volunteer for Daily Bread Express, made
carrot cake for nearly 70 people.
“Tomorrow it may be 45 sandwiches,” the
six-year veteran chuckles.
After seeing the volunteer job announce
ment to deliver meals to homebound people
with H1V/AIDS, he made the call.
W estover H eights
N
P ro fesio n a l Service
Comfortable Bikeo
Recumbento a Specialtyl
7372 5W Capitol Highway
Portland, OK 97219 • 503-246-6267
D a il y B r e a d E x p r e s s
Coventry
simo
■T P
While acknowledging the strong internal
push to find another way of life that many
callers express, Roni is well aware of the pain
that such decisions can bring to individu-l
als and their families.
“I try not to encourage them,
give them the ins and outs, the
good and the bad,” Roni says
“They need to know the ba
part, too.”
Roni recommends that
callers talk to counselors,
call crisis hot lines if
necessary, or come to
the alliance’s meetings
for camaraderie and
friendship.
The alliance was
founded in the early
’80s with only a few
people interested in
cross-dressing. Roni says
thousands have participat
ed in the group since its
inception.
She speaks on college
campuses, participates in sym
posiums and now sits on a com
mission that is preparing material on|
transgender issues to be used in diversity
training for police officers.
While Roni continues to give back to her
community, she makes it clear she gets some
thing for herself as well.
“I enjoy the volunteering, because it not
only makes my life easier, but it makes it more
comfortable for me to be out there," she
explains, referring to the increased visibility of
transgender people.
Opon I uoday-Siinday
2 30-772 3
2025 SH Hawthorne
Offering general internal
medicine and excelling
in sexual health care
Serving the comm unity for 17 years
2330 NW Flanders
Suite 207
226-6678