Just out., June 16, 2000, Page 15, Image 15

Mine 16. 2 0 0 0 ' J m t aart. , 5
U M ivi sin e w s
t started following the death of a beloved
Foxy Lady.
Sharon Hambleton, an avid athlete in
her younger years, also a member of the
Foxy Ladies of ’42 (an informal social
group comprising her friends who were all bom
in the same year), passed away in March 1997
after battling ovarian cancer for three years.
In 1998, her longtime partner, Lorie Hansen,
and several close friends devised a way to have
Hambleton’s name live on while they con­
tributed a service to the community as well.
They started the Hambleton Project, a Port­
land-based network for lesbians with cancer.
The project is modeled after the Mautner Pro­
ject in Washington, D.C., an organization that
helped Hambleton herself during her 19 trips
back east to the National Cancer Institute in
Maryland.
The mission statement for the Portland
group reads: “The Hambleton Project is a non­
profit organization that provides education and
support to lesbians with cancer. The project
invites lesbians, their partners, friends and fam­
ilies to call us for assistance.”
In June 1998, the project got its first call.
Since then, it’s been growing, forming, network­
ing and making a name for itself in the Portland
area. This year, the project boasts a team of 40
volunteers and helps nearly 30 lesbians with
cancer.
“Lesbians our age tend to be more closeted,
and it’s harder for them to reach out. Most of
them don’t have the circle of friends younger
lesbians have,” says Barb Morris, the project’s
treasurer and also one of Hambleton’s longtime
friends.
The project runs three support groups, net­
works with other lesbian and health care groups,
G aining M omentum
The Hambleton Project, a 2-year-old network fo r lesbians w ith
cancer, improves visibility, seeks office space by K aty Davidson
Barb Morris (left) and Jan Dillon
distributes a newsletter, and serves as a contact
for out-of-town patients coming to Portland for
treatment.
O n a day-to-day basis, the members and vol­
unteers mostly help out women around the
house. They provide transportation to doctor
appointments, do shopping, help with house­
work and yardwork.
“The women get exhausted,” Mor­
ris says. “W e’re really willing to do
anything that will help their quality of
life.”
Despite the project’s steady suc­
cess, it’s still officeless— a state of
affairs that is a little off-putting for
Morris and Jan Dillon, the project’s
chairwoman.
“Our biggest need right now is an
office space,” Morris says. “W e’re scat­
tered. I think we could focus better if
we were in one place.”
Though neither Dillon nor Morris
is battling cancer, both became
involved with the project as a result of
their close friendships with Hamble­
ton. Both are retired; Dillon was a
teacher, and Morris used to work for
Henderson House, a domestic vio­
lence shelter.
“We mostly do a lot of organiza­
tional things,” Morris says.
The memory of Hambleton is what keeps
Dillon involved.
“That’s the fire that keeps me going,” she
says. “I don’t like to use the word death, but it’s
life-altering to be around."
Right now, the board holds meetings in
members’ homes and holds volunteer trainings
at Friendly House, a community center in
Northwest Portland. Morris says one household
receives phone calls, another one receives
incoming mail, and another houses all the
newsletter materials.
The project is also in perpetual search of new
volunteers, and the board will hold its next vol­
unteer training June 27. T he training will be
more of an emotional-assurance workshop than
a hands-on session, according to Dillon.
“W e’ll tell people what gifts they have, work
on how to listen, how not to project your own
feelings toward the situation, how to feel more
comfortable around someone who’s dying,” she
says.
Morris adds: “We don’t just toss people out to
sink or swim. Going into a stranger’s house can
be a little intimidating.”
Considering its status as a nonprofit organi­
zation, the project is always in search of funds as
well. Recently, the Hambleton Project was
awarded three grants and held its first fund­
raising event, a banquet at Starky’s, but the
board is looking for a way to maintain enough
income to cover the cost of an office space.
To support the project’s visibility campaign,
members of the Hambleton Project will march
in the Portland pride parade on June 18.
■ For more information about the
P r o j e c t , call (503) 672-1007.
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