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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2000)
PMiWlWJi-'TWws North Portland They'll tune your engine. They'll fix your car. And as an added bonus, they'll save the planet. S hout I t O ut Queer youth et al. are encouraged to speak out at upcoming YouthNet Town Hall by Katy Davidson Veterinary Hospital Like any family member our pets need good healthcare. At North Portland Veterinary PO X Automotive Is a certified Eco-Logkal Business. Hospital, w e provide the very best medical care along with 282-3315 big doses of tenderness and compassion. 285-0462 2009 N.Killingsworth Mechanics With A Conscience (and x-ray vision) O w n nrtftad DEO r w . fadky /4SE Cnrf»d ( Gerard Lillie • 5934 N.E. Halsey Metro Real Estate Clockwise from left: Ciara, YouthNet coordinator Mel Rudd, Sarah Barnard and Stephanie Perron are helping develop an agenda for the sexual minority youth services netw ork n the office of YouthNet, nestled above the outstretched waiting areas of Portland’s funky Union Station, you’ll find a busy jumble of flyers, resource guides, lists and brainstorming notes. Appropriately enough, the sexual minority youth services net work’s current agenda is a pretty accurate reflec tion of the lively space. YouthNet, which began operating two sum mers ago, already has its hands full with regular ly scheduled activities, such as youth council meetings and various high school projects, but network participants have recently been throw ing attention toward two upcoming events: a Town Hall in February and an anti-racism train ing poised for April. Mel Rudd, YouthNet’s coordinator, says the idea for the Town Hall originated when the net work first began operating. The purpose of the event is to pull together queer youths, service providers and allies and get them to shout out their frustrations— and possible solutions. “W e’re going to get together, have a lot of food, maybe an open mike or something, and just have a brainstorming session about what people want," Rudd explains. “We want to get stuff down on paper.” Nadia Cannon, one of YouthNet’s high- schcxff-age interns, is convinced the Town Hall will be anything but boring. “We want this to be big and huge and fun," she tells Just Out. Associate Broker 503 . 228.9801 bucherts@hasson.com Rudd says the goal of the Town Hall, which is slated for Feb. 26, is to take everyone’s ideas and turn them into YouthNet’s needs and ser vices plan. We can start to create a vision on paper of what we want to do," says Rudd, who’d like to see the development of a centralized place for queer youths to call if they run into trouble. A big red flag came up on my screen when I got four crisis calls in one week and we didn't have people to respond right away," Rudd says, adding that a crisis line may actually be devel oped with resources that are already in place. “W e’re not creating new services as much as we’re trying to improve existing services," Rudd says. Anti-racism training is also on the networks horizon. T h e seminar is a collaborative effort with two local service organizations, Rainbow and Bradley-Angle House, and is tentatively scheduled to take place at Portland State Uni versity in early April. Amid these larger events, there is a web of activity that keeps YouthNet moving on a daily basis. Among other involvements, Rudd says, the network is busy trying to make the Portland Police Bureau’s Sexual M inorities Roundtable more accessible to youths and working with the Streetlig h t Youth S h e lte r to help develop awareness o f trans issues. “I can’t stress how excited I am about that, Rudd says. Like many other nonprofit organizations, however, YouthN et’s vision is somewhat con strained by funding. Rudd says the network gets enough money from M ultnomah C ounty to pay the coordinator for 25 hours per work week, fund some events and keep the office up and running. “T h e county only partially covers us; we re always looking to other sources for funding, Rudd says. “W e have two incredible interns working for us, but we can only pay them a small stipend." ■ YouthNet’s T own H a ll will be held at 6 p m. Feb. 26 at the Q uaker M eeting H ouse, 4 3 I 2 S.E. Stark St. m Portland. All queer youths and their allies are encouraged to attend. To learn more about YOUTHNET programs, send an e-m ail to pdxyouthnet@hotm ail.com or call (503) 2 2 7 -19 8 1. K aty D avidson is a Just O ut staff writer. She can be reached at katy@justout .com .
