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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 2002)
liguai 2, 2002 hen it opened in 1996, the Abdill- Ellis Community Center was hailed by sexual minorities from around the state as a milestone in the fostering of positive integration. Following upon the tragic loss of two Ashland leaders, Michelle Ahdill and Roxanne Ellis, the facility was created as a positive bridge to the general population while providing an affirming support network for gay, lesbian, hi and trans individuals. Immediately, the center set about finding ways for community members to meet, socialize and support each other. T h e or ganization rented a large facility with a dance floor and scheduled monthly activities. Participa tion was encouraging, hut the group was soon in over its head financially. More importantly, co-chairman Ed Bums says, the center drifted from its mis sion as a social service agency. Five years after opening, it was on the verge of closing its doors for good. “Things really fell apart,” acknowledges Burns, who has served on the hoard of directors for two years. "It was a lot chaos. It was a lot of turmoil. And it was a lot of finan cial difficulties, too." He believes the center began to lose favor with the community when it began to lose touch with its con stituents’ primary needs. Personal con flicts started to pull apart the organiza tion as it tried to fulfill diverging demands. “We had become more of an enter tainment committee for the gay com munity. It was very expensive, for one thing, and it wasn’t what the funding sources were giving us money to do,” Bums cites. “There were people who wanted the center to become their life. It was kind of just a bigger closet for them. So that’s what we tried to do, and in doing so, we isolated ourselves from the commu nity at large because there was a lot of concern” that people would he outed. The center was ailing, and only a few core members tended to its needs. They wanted to make it work, hut before they agreed to con tinue the struggle, they asked themselves important questions: Are the needs of the community now served by other organizations, such as Parents, Families and Friends of Les bians and Gays and the youth-oriented Not W FIN DIN G vo" CEN TER Fallen from fame, Ashland's gay community center rebuilds its reputation by returning to its roots Volunteers publish a monthly newsletter, maintain a W eb site and staff a hot line that averages several calls a day. Its new location houses a lending library and serves as an available space for meetings and activities. Even as center volunteers realized they couldn’t do everything, they also recognized they were not alone. “Collaboration" became a key word for its leaders and has resulted in jo in t projects with area service providers. Jackson County Health and Human Services, for example, offers anonymous HIV testing and counseling at the center. And soon the nonprofit will work with the Southern Oregon University Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Allies Student Union to hire a mental health therapist for crisis intervention work on campus. “We really want to work together with other organizations that have the same general issues of fairness and treating human beings as human beings,” co- chairman Jesse Freeborn says. Yet all along, the chief accomplish ment of the organization has been even more basic— to make people aware of southern Oregon’s thriving sexual minorities community. “My personal goal,” Bums comments, “is to incorpo rate who we are and what we do into the community at large.” Freeborn adds, “I want to make it eas ier for people to come out, easier for peo ple who have been out for years to con nect with other people and to be a posi tive influence in the community.” JH For more information about the A bdill -E llis C ommunity C enter call 5 4 1 -488-6990 or visit the Internet site uwtv.abdellis.org. Straight, Not Sure.7 Are people feeling so safe and accepted that the center is no longer nec essary.7 Should it close its doors? “We made a focus of going back to the community and asking what they want from the center— and doing our best to provide that, with the understanding that we can’t be the end-all and be-all for the entire community. We have to maintain some parameters in terms of the services that we provide," Bums says. The center scaled back activities and scram bled to balance its hooks once again. The group discontinued its staff director position and began to rely on volunteers. In another cost-saving measure, the center eventually moved into a church basement. Travel A rrangem ents \if]l Tailored to Your Meeds Today, the non profit still sponsors social events, al though much less fre quently and often with an underlying intent of supporting other programs, such as the dissemination of health information. The main concentra tion now is to serve as an information and referral center about activities and services in the region. 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