MAY 30, 2006 jllStpUt I 19
Feeling Fruity?
In addition, Walcker thought he would be
getting three meals a day, seven days a week. “It
was more like one meal a day, and only during the
week. The chef had the weekends off.”
Rainbow Vista manager Ian Jones responded
egonian and just strew it all over the place,” said
Moshberger, adding that Walcker never quite fit
in with the other residents.
Moshberger also called Walcker a “level two”
who required more care than the average Rainbow
"The problem with Rainbow Vista is that
they're charging for rent and other services as
if they were a care facility. But they're not."
—Roger Ward
Dclidow
Fruit Deal*»*
•with Dipped Daisies“
To order, please call or visit:
(503) 236-3395
2710 NE Glisan • Portland, OR
Edible Arrangement«' — www.cdiblcarnmgemcnfs.coin
that the $595 monthly rent was only a “move
in special” and did not include furniture rental
charges and “independent living levels.” He add
ed that Rainbow Vista never has advertised three
meals a day for residents but does provide lunch
“free of charge.”
However, the $595 monthly rent is the only
figure given on Rainbow Vista’s Web site and
its promotional materials, and that amount was
confirmed by Moshberger in a Just Out interview
earlier this month. Also during that interview,
Moshberger said Rainbow Vista charged residents
$350 for a monthly msal plan.
In sifting through the confusion, Just Out con
tacted Walcker’s best friend of 32 years, Roger
Ward of Tacoma, Wash., who handles his finan
cial affairs. “The problem with Rainbow Vista is
that they’re charging for rent and other services
as if they were a care facility,” said Ward. “But
they’re not.”
Rainbow Vista is licensed by the city of Gresh
am as a rental property, meaning it can only charge
residents for, and profit from, rent. “I wish they
would just call themselves co-operative apartments,
because that’s what they are,” said Ward.
Inside Rainbow Vista
The common areas of Rainbow Vista are well-
lit, comfortable, not at all unlike your favorite
grandma’s sitting room, right down to the floral
prints on the sofas. A selection of gay-themed
magazines is splayed out on the coffee tables.
A dry-erase board in the office notes the July
move-in date of “Howard and David” as well as a
“spring fever luau party” May 15.
A small room right off the lobby serves as
Rainbow Vista’s salon and massage room, with
a sign on the door advertising $25 for a haircut,
$40 for a one-hour massage and $50 for hot stones
therapy, none of which Rainbow Vista has a busi
ness license for.
A hallway leads past a large industrial
looking kitchen into the dining area. When Just
Out visited Rainbow Vista in mid-May, Mosh
berger and resident Bill Stein, 86, agreed to meet
right before lunch.
“Everything here is gay-done—all the em
ployees are gay, everybody,” said Moshberger,
who bought the complex in 2007 when it was
called Autumn Park. Now Rainbow Vista has
seven residents, every one of them gay except for
Diana, a 50-year-old holdout from the Autumn
Park era who declined to give her last name.
“We’ve got to get her put out,” Moshberger said
before she came in for lunch. “She’s got lupus,
and she’s deteriorating.”
The atmosphere got chilly when Walcker’s
name was mentioned. “He made a mess every
where he went. He would take the morning Or
Vista resident. Walcker’s bill for April indicated
“level two” as part of his $1,200 base monthly
rent, but when Ward tried to get an itemized list
of the charges for “level two” care, he never heard
back from Rainbow Vista.
In any case, the bill was never paid, because
Walcker moved out of Rainbow V ista on April 15,
three weeks after he moved in.
Ji XX» Hhbk Arrangement«*, LLC
Coprtcht
SUSTAINABLE RESIDENTIAL
DESIGN
Mackenzie Architecture, Inc.
503.282.7674
www.mackenzlearchitecture.com
Still a Great Need
As the number of gay seniors grows, so does the
need for affordable, gay-friendly apartment build
ings, nursing homes and care centers. And as a
queer-oriented apartment complex, Rainbow Vista
might fit the bill for many independent gay seniors.
“Sometimes all gay seniors need is to be with
people that can be comfortably out with,” said
Vaune Albanese, executive director of Portland’s
Friendly House, which provides services to gay
seniors through its Elder Resource Alliance. For
many, discrimination includes people taking
down queer-specific fliers in lobbies, and an intol
erant atmosphere in bingo halls.
Even for seniors just looking for a gay-friendly
apartment complex, Rainbow Vista has yet an
other problem: location.
In-June 2007, Rainbow Vista contacted Port
land nonprofit Senior Housing and Retirement
Enterprises about a possible partnership with the
facility, but SHARE declined. “It was so far out,”
executive director Dan Pierce said. “The geo
graphic location in Gresham was definitely not
ideal. Why would we want to isolate our seniors
more than they already are?”
Rainbow Vista sits on a busy street where
the only store in walking distance is a Plaid
Pantry on the corner. Gresham Transit Center,
where most bus routes end at MAX, is more
than a mile away.
Fortunately, SHARE is working on alterna
tives a little closer to home, including early talks
about renovating a building in inner Southeast
Portland. If the project becomes reality, it’ll cre
ate 76 units of affordable, gay-friendly housing
close to Q Center.
Back at MacDonald Residence, Walcker can
walk to hear the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus sing,
and regularly checks in with Cascade AIDS Proj
ect. His building has a nurse on staff and its own
medication room and costs $100 less than the
$l,450-a-month total at Rainbow Vista.
Pierce, who attended an open house at Rain
bow Vista last July, was glad that his organization
passed on partnering with the facility. “Knowing
what we know now, why would we recommend
Rainbow Vista to anyone ?”
602 SE 38th Ave.
Portland, OR 97214
503.231.3922
Wed - Sat
PAUL MITCHELL
Holistic Pet Vet Clinic
Integrative veterinary medicine
emphasizing naturopathic care
Clinical Nutrition
Hmncopathy,
□
Hobs, Natural
Bob Ulhrich, I lea
VMD
Control
Cydria Manette,
DVM
Chiropractic
\cu|n<nct u) c
503-293-6666
www.holisticpetvetclinic.com
Fresh-Frozen, Preservative Free Pet Food
Portland's
EAST PORTLAND
SASH & CARPENTRY Co.
can be reached at pbrendanleonard@gmail.com.
CONDO PRO
RON MILLIGAN Real Estate Broker
W ood W indow R epair • R ope T ying
G lazing •
weatherstrip
R eproduction S ashes • F inish
C arpentry « C ustom C abinetry
(503) 484-3166
email: ronmilligan@remax.net
CONTACT US:
pm@Toi com 503.453.6301
P aul L eonard is a Portland freelance writer. He
Signature Properties
CCB 18025 7
licensed, bonded, insured
2717 NE Broodway
Porrtood, OR 97232
(503)282-4000x143
(S03) 282-8558 (fox)