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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2000)
2 g j i u t o u t • QCtüûer fi. 2ÛÛÛ P hoenix F alling C ontinued from P age 2 5 What's next? espite the demise o f Phoenix Rising, ser vices for sexual minorities are as plenti ful as ever. Networks Helios Counseling Ser vices will continue offering mental health services to all ages and sexual orientations. Although Helios will work with clients from all income levels and can accept Medic aid, Medicare and Oregon Health Plan cover age as payment, it will not offer low-income clients a sliding scale. Personnel will assist qualifying individuals with an application to the Oregon Health Plan, which will cover at least some of the mental health services need ed. Helios also accepts many private health insurance plans. But some in the community still will fall through the cracks without Phoenix Ris ings sliding scale available to them. C lients without a permanent address or proper iden tification cannot qualify for the Oregon Health Plan. Individuals with incomes that exceed the Kathy Beige says that youth services are vibrant, alive and growing hut that more is needed requirements of the Oregon Health Plan hut who cannot af ford private insur ance or to pay cash will not he able to receive services from Helios. Watson says clien ts who fall in this “uncovered” ca t egory can seek ser vices from those pri vate mental health professionals who still offer a sliding scale. Network will continue to be a resource for sexual minority seniors but does not current ly have any programs in place for this popula tion. However, Watson personally will help direct seniors who are in need of assistance to the proper resources. Sh e says Network will he looking for $ 5 ,0 0 0 to publish a new edition of the Senior Resource Directory early next year. T h e first edition was published last January with finan cial support from Equity Foundation, M ult nomah County and a private donor. When an ordinary Realtor sim ply won 7 do... .......... .. Youth services a priority I he blending of Phoenix Rising’s pro- grams and those at Network gives Port- land-area youth more centralized services than before. Roots and Branches, a Network program, will continue to provide case management services to the area’s sexual minority youth. T h e newly formed Vanguard Youth Services will take over management of the Sexual Minority Youth Recreational Center and has outreach programs in Clackamas and W ash ington counties. Bridge 13, a youth speaker’s bureau to edu cate the community about sexual minority youth issues, will operate under Vanguard Youth Services. Kathy Beige, a former case manager at Roots and Branches, recently took over the youth services program manager’s duties. She says the Sexual Minority Youth Recreational C enter serves as a hub for all of the youth programs. The facility serves about 500 youths, with 35 to 40 newcomers dropping in every month, according to Beige. The center, governed by a Youth Steering Committee, is filled with an average of 43 youths on weekdays and more than 70 on week ends. T h e goal is to have the capability to offer services to even more youths. T h e first step is finding a new location; the center, at the east end o f the Burnside Bridge in a congested area with substantial traffic noise, needs a building with more space located off a major street. JL In addition, the cen ter does not have an outdoor area. Beige thinks youth need a COM place to get outside to bum up some energy. Youth questioning their gender also are served by the center. Two evenings a week, an average of eight youths attend a trans support group. Youth services are vibrant, alive and grow ing, Beige and Watson say, but more is needed. The program’s hours need to be expanded, counseling services for youth need to grow, drug and alcohol programs need to be launched, and employment issues must be dealt with, Beige says. In the meantime, the youths need the com munity’s support, money and time. “W e’d like to see the queer community come back and volunteer and support us with donations so we can continue to do this good work,” Watson says. The future N elson might be sad about the end of Phoenix Rising but says he is hopeful about the future. “I’m very confident that Net work will do a great job, and in some ways, ser vices will be much more stable." Although Phoenix Rising might be gone from Portland’s landscape, the spirit of the orga nization likely will live on for some time— just like its namesake. i n Contact N etwork B ehavioral H ealth - C are I nc . at 5415 S.W. Milwaukie A ve. #3, Portland, OR 97202, or (503) 238-0769. C all H elios C ounseling S ervices at (503) 238-0780. For more information about the SEXUAL M inority Y outh R ecreational C enter , call (503) 872-9 6 6 4 or visit the Internet site www.smyrc.org. J onathan K ipp is a Just Out staff reporter who can be reached at jki[)p@teleport.com. Your fresh flower professionals JACKSON’S FLO W ERS 3804 N. E. Sandy Blvd. Portland, OR 97232 (503) 282-0657 • 1 (800) 303-0657 J O ur H ands nsFlowers.com Move H earts rs/mernative^eal www.climbatree.com SAVINGS 933 SE 3 1 st Ave. Portland, OR 9 7 2 14 on Limited Edition »Ü b ITN office: 503-238-7617 REALTOR® US “the only shop that comes to you" 4 2 3 5 S I: W oodstock B lvd. • Portland O R 91^06 c “ 3 - 774-3531
