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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2011)
12 rv Thinking outside the box street roots April 29, 2011 Gay and Grey, from page 1 by Leo Rhodes Thinking outside the box is not easy Change is what you want But change is hard for you Going back to the same way is easier You don’t hear what I hear You don’t see what I see You don’t feel what I feel You go through this with blinder, and only See what’s in front of you My suggestions are laugh at Easily amusing Don’t deny it I see it in your eyes I question others and myself But I know change will come Way, way, way in the future I wish change would come sooner Until yo'u see, hear, and feel what I do We’ll have to wait and keep on talking In too deep by Jason How deep does the rabbit hole go? It is dark so how will I know The deeper I go, the more I become scared This journey alone is impossible to bear Confusion surrounds me all too fast Can I hold on to the wheel, or will I crash Everywhere I go there’s more twists and turns My fatigue an issue becoming more of a concern I start to wonder if this is just a trap Only if before I jumped in, I had a lighter and a map. I can feel the soil start to stain my skin “They offer a place for people who might want to watch musicals, not football,” says Meisner. Rupar and Meisner moved to Portland from Oakland to live at Rainbow Vista, “an active LGBT senior residence,” in Gresham; however, even there, Rupar and Meisner say they witnessed “psychological abuse” that made them move out Even the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) is making changes. Earljer this month, HUD launched a new, yearlong campaign called “Live Free,” designed to draw national attention to housing discrimination against minorities, including the LGBTQ community. Although there is no national assessment of LGBT housing discrimination (HUD is currently working on one based on the last census), several state and local studies that have indicated evidence of bias. A 2007 report by Michigan’s Fair Housing Centers showed that nearly 30 percent of same-sex couples were treated differently when attempting to buy or rent a home, facing burdens from higher rental rates and application fees to borderline sexual harassment Oregon is one of seventeen states that ban housing discrimination based on sexual orientation. Nevertheless, the Portland nonprofit Senior Housing and Retirement Enterprises (SHARE) was established in 2001 to address the lack of local affordable housing for gay seniors. SHARE’S raison d’etre is to offer “safely (from the) fear of mistreatment by care-givers and other residents...socialization that is inclusive...(education for) staff and other residents regarding LGBT senior's’ sensibilities and fears” and to combat the “reluctance of LGBT seniors to reveal their sexual identity to health providers and care providers.” Last year, SHARE was . in cn rp n ra ted in tn G ay & Crny P D Y w h ich is in the midst of forming a subcommittee on The roots of madness is spreading within I hunger for light and my eyes are weary Oh sweet solace how I miss you dearly Blood from my hand drips into the dirt Seed of hatred grows, with the devil I flirt I must move on but can’t help but cry There must be a reason and I don’t know why I can no longer run and I’m starting to crawl In a hole so deep I feel insignificantly small Breathing is difficult, there’s so little air The air I do breath smells like despair. I’m in too deep with no where to go Now I am stuck, lost in this hole. , housing. Covert discrimination Yes, but isn’t Portland one of the gay- friendliest cities? “Especially in Portland, discrimination is a challenge,” says Mya Chamberlain, director of Services for Seniors and Homeless Families at Friendly House. Chamberlain explains that because of Portland’s gay-friendly reputation, covert discrimination is often brushed under the rug rather than addressed seriously. Research supports Chamberlain’s theory. For instance, a four-year-old Urban Institute study found that even in states with no official legal barriers to gays adopting children, covert discrimination against gay couples was occurring within adoption agencies. Another study published twelve years ago in The Journal of Social Psychology, entitled “Covert Discrimination Against Gay Men by U.S. College Students,” found that even when study participants made “overtly positive evaluations” of gay men, they maintained “covert negative attitudes.” After participating in a Gay & Grey PDX educational workshop with Portland State University’s School of Community Health, one student wrote in an evaluation, “Whenever someone tells me they’re gay, my reaction is honestly, ‘So?’ Your talk made me realize that it’s about culture and identity — by shrugging off someone’s gay status, I have been discrediting them, or a big part of who they are.” To combat covert discrimination, Gay & Grey PDX volunteers teach workshops not only for Portland State University’s community health students, but also for nursing students at Linfield College and Upcoming Events University of Portland, and staff at Multnomah County Aging and ‘Think Pink!” Prom will be 6-9 Disability Services and p.m. on Friday, May 20 at Q Immigrant and Refugee Center (4115 N Mississippi Community Street), $5-$25 donation Organization.. suggested Paving the way There’s no denying that the gay rights movement has come a long way. Gay & Grey PDX members vividly remember a time, only forty years ago, when being gay was defined as a mental illness and gay-friendly bars would flash lights to warn patrons that police 1 w e r e c o ming; Gay & Grey PDX Expo on Saturday, May 21st from 10 a.m .-4 p.m. at Friendly House, 1737 NW 26 Street. Admission is free. Gay & Grey PDX also offers year-round programs. Call 228- 4391 or visit www. gayandgreypdx.org for more information. ■■HMBHBHBHMMMi 1 —................................................ - “Youngsters today are so fortunate that we’ve come before them and paved the way,” says Messerschmidt Even so, gay youth coming out today continue to face rough odds - LGBTQ teens are bullied two to three times as much as straight single teens and are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide, according to the It Gets Better Project, started by media pundit Dan Savage. “The thing is, it doesn’t get better at our age,” says Gay & Grey PDX member John Behrens. “As we get older, we get more vulnerable...but we don’t want to go back into the closet” “Friendly House has changed our lives,” says Hamilton. “It’s given us friends and allies.” --------------------- , & m ra W in NEW S E A S O N S Meet Your Local Branch Manager: 4totn& Groton ^Communities aren'tjust streets a n d build ings. Communities are thriving places where cultures, commerce a n d souls grow I s h o p fre s h stronger together " f c s h o p lo c a l -M a r y Mary Edmeades Social Impact Banking 503.445.2155 medmeades@aibinabank.com ■ e At Albina Community Bank the most ordinary financial transaction can have an extraordinary impact on our local community. You’re going to bank somewhere, why not let your banking make a difference in « the places where you five and work? LENDER r l/IV The store in toton. EASY & F U N TO S H O P * LO C A LLY ^1 Want a vendor in your neighborhood? Call ED & O PE R A TE D w w w . n e w s e a s o n s r n a r k e t .c n m 7. ■ ■ a ll
