JUN E 17, 2011
OREGON S LGBTO NEWSMAGAZINE
tionships course and regularly partners with
local organizations to provide education and
outreach. Because these initiatives weren’t in
the budget, Mendez had to find her own
funding sources, including the Pride Foun
dation, Equity Foundation and benefits or
ganized by the local queer community.
The PSU social work graduate says she
facilitates at least four trainings a month,
both in domestic violence for queer groups
and in LGBTQ_ cultural competency for
domestic violence organizations. But the
eight-week Healthy Relationships classes
have been particularly successful. The cours
es, which use an LGBTQjspecific curricu
lum developed by Seattle’s Northwest N et
work, fill up quickly, she says.
“I t’s a good way to get people involved, also have support groups for partners o f sur
because nobody wants to talk about do vivors and for more culturally specific groups,
mestic violence, but everyone wants to talk as well as a speakers bureau. For now, she’s
about relationships,” M endez explains. just happy to be doing what she’s doing.
W hile she expected the classes to function
“I just love working with the queer com
as a tool for domestic violence prevention, munity,” M endez says. “That’s what I wanted
she says they have actually served as a to do, so it’s amazing that it worked out.”
feeder into support services.
For more information, visit bradleyangle.org.
In an ideal world, Mendez says she would
— E rin R ook
Come Together,
Right Now
hammad Yunus— Baker’s vision is
seen through his Blue Voice E nter
prises. Essentially, the idea is to pro
vide a localized spotlight on indepen
The new economic visions of dent craftsmen, artisans, laborers,
designers, etc. through a social media
Michkael Baker
center called a C A C O O N (Creative
Practicing sustainability. Stim ulating the
Arts C enter o f Online Organized
local economy. Eating well. Supporting Networks), collaborations which are then
your community. These life guidelines are to be featured on an online television net
not lost on a majority of Portlanders. But work called Showcase Networks. People
for Michkael Baker, they’ve become the would then be able to stream and view
basis for a life turnaround, and the founda these shows from the local sites and busi
tions o f a promising business model.
nesses to connect with other people online,
For the past three-and-a-half years, and find resources in the marketplace to
Baker, 41, has dedicated his energies to help boost independent, local business
cultivating an ambitious, localized collab around the world.
Baker hopes for funding for the larger
orative business plan, centering on a new
way for people to work together to subvert project within the next three months, but
the corporate mechanism while pumping the public is already privy to one aspect o f
up the local economies o f the world. Fueled his vision: The Open Kitchen series. Open
by the idea o f “social business” and “social Kitchen unites local vendors, wineries,
enterprise”— terms coined by Bangladeshi chefs and artisans to create a completely
economist and Nobel Prize winner M u- local meal while bringing together those
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