February 16.2ÛG1 * J hb E a o tjg
flTTnTW nCTlnews
by Feb. 28. Decisions about the proposals will be
announced by March 15. Workshop topics may
deal with anything of interest to bisexual people.
Formed in 1995, the alliance has become the
largest and most active bisexual organization in
Oregon. It concentrates on community build
ing, public education and political advocacy.
Organizers say bisexuals often find them
selves invisible in the media and socially ostra
cized— even within gay and lesbian groups. The
alliance works to break that isolation by holding
regular events.
Send your proposal to board@biportland.org.
For more information write to P.O. Box 412,
Portland, OR 97207; call 503-775-9717; or visit
the Internet site www.biportland.org.
L awyers D efend G ay M a n ’ s
R ight to R etain H ome
he Lambda Legal Defense and Education
Fund urged the W ashington Supreme
Court on Feb. 13 to overturn a ruling that
stripped a man of his home and business after the
death of his partner of 27 years and
affirm that gay couples are protect
ed by the state’s law of equity. The
decision in Vasquez v. Hawthorne
was not available at press time.
“The Court of Appeals created
a peculiar and unfair barrier for les
bians and gay men when it treated
Frank Vasquez as a legal stranger to
the property he and his partner had
built up over their years together,”
said Jennifer Pizer, an attorney for
Lambda’s W estern
Regional
Office. “For the sake of all gay fam
ilies throughout the state, as well as
basic justice for Frank Vasquez, the
W ashington
Supreme Court
should tear down this barrier.”
Vasquez shared a home and
business with Robert Schwerzler,
who died in 1995 without a will.
In 1997, Schwerzler’s relatives
sued to take over all the men’s assets, including
their home in Puyallup. Although a lower court
upheld Vasquez’s claim to the property, valued at
$230,000 and acquired during their relationship,
the state’s Court of Appeals ruled that he has no
right to retain that property because the two
men were of the same sex and couldn’t have
married even if they had wished to.
“Washington’s equitable doctrine provides a
fair safety net if one partner in an unmarried
couple dies without a will,” said Ruth E. Harlow,
Lambda legal director. “This doctrine of fairness
should not be offered to only some couples and
not others because of their sexual orientation.”
T
L ength of S tay at
O ur H ouse I ncreases
ccording to recent statistics released by Our
House of Portland, a hospice for people with
AIDS, the length of residents’ stay has increased
dramatically during the past three years.
In 1998, the average length of stay was 106
days; since then, it has increased almost 350 per
cent. In earlier years, the average stay for resi
dents before death was 18 days.
The average age of residents, 39.8 years old
in 2000, remained about the same during the
same time period.
The deaths of residents at Our House also
dropped. A total of 12 residents died at the hos
pice during 1998; nine residents died during 2000.
Since 1993, the number of people who have
been diagnosed with and have died from AIDS
has decreased dramatically. A t the height of the
epidemic in Oregon, 560 residents were diag
A
nosed with AIDS; 375 died of AIDS complica
tions in the same year. 2000 saw only 105 AIDS
diagnoses and five deaths, according to data
from the Oregon Health Division.
Our House of Portland is the only residential
care facility providing 24-hour skilled nursing
care to people in the late stages of the syndrome.
The increase in average ctay is posing new chal
lenges for the hospice as it moves to provide
expanded and improved services to meet the
residents’ increasingly complex care needs.
For more information, to volunteer or to make
a donation write to Our House, 2727 S.E. Alder
St., Portland, OR 97214; or call 503-234-0175.
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P rotester N ow H as AIDS
he North Bend man who stopped taking
his anti-retroviral HIV medication Dec. 21
in protest of the state’s decision to take the
names of those testing positive for HIV says he
now has AIDS.
After three years of “being normal,” Steve
Henson recently was handed an AIDS diagno
sis from his doctor. He stopped a pharmaceuti
cal regimen that was
keeping him healthy
when Dr. M artin
Wasserman, the O re
gon H ealth Divi
sion’s administrator,
publicly announced
his decision to ex
pand HIV surveil
lance around the
state.
Starting July 1,
the names of people
testing positive for
HIV will be reported
to the public health
system. The informa
tion will remain in
the state’s computer
database for 90 days
before the name is
transcribed into a
code called a unique identifier.
The new policy is being implemented, offi
cials say, to track the changing HIV epidemic
and to provide better services to those testing
positive for the virus. Despite the pending poli
cy, anonymous and confidential testing will con
tinue to be available throughout the state.
Henson released a press statement in Decem
ber that said he would continue his one-man
protest until the decision to utilize names report
ing is reversed or effective legislation and admin
istrative rules are enacted to secure and protect
the rights of HIV-positive people. He is a mem
ber of the governor-appointed Oregon Public
Health Advisory Board and the newly formed
Alliance for Public Health Accountability.
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Second Annual
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Commitment to Our Community Awards Dinner
Honoring:
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ascade AIDS Project held its annual Vol-
✓ unteer Appreciation Reception on Feb. 15
at Fifth Avenue Suites Hotel in downtown Port
land. The region’s leading HIV organization said
711 youth and adults volunteered 24,240 hours
valued at $536,789 in 2000.
Jeff Miller, general manager of Saks Fifth
Avenue; Bruce Carey, owner of Bluehour and
Saucebox restaurants; and the Jesuit Volunteer
Corps Northwest received Community Leader
Awards for their long-standing commitment to
the work of CAP. Angel Awards were presented
to students in Portland State University’s Cap
stone Project and to 28 other individuals pro
viding exceptional support in programs across
the agency.
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