Decem ber 9, 1987, Portland O bserver, P a qe9
Com m unity M ental Health
Health Watch
by Danny Bell
S iiv u B.I* V N D
T h e NE C o n n e c tio n
T e s tin g fo r A ID S
Did you know that there is a facility in the community of which the ex
pressed purpose is to serve as an agent to help intergrate those who have
had a history of chronic mental illness so as to achieve a higher quality of
life and social interaction in their community. That place is the NE Connec
tion. The NE Connection is a socialization program which provides daily
structure in a non threatening environment for chronically mentally ill clients
residing in the North/Northeast Portland community. The center is operated
by the N/NE Community Mental Health Center (CMHC).
The NE Connection has evolved from a drop in center which was origi
nally a component of the County Mental Health program that operated as
part of the Albina Human Resource Center. It came about in the early 1970
as a result of research that discovered that a significant number of young
males with mental histories had a lot of idle time and were living unstructured
lives with little access to a positive social environment. In response to this
need, the drop-in center was instituted. In 1984, the program was trans
ferred to the auspices of the N/NE CMHC. The NE Connection, as it exists
now, came into being in January 1986.
From its early days as a drop-in center, the focus of activities were re
creational outings, holiday dinners, and arts and crafts. Today the NE Con
nection provides these same services plus education in community re
sources, such as structured social skills building, which has provided some
clients with the assistance to pursue their education at Portland Community
College, or pre-vocational activities, such as special projects with the Urban
League, in one of which the members of NE Connection assisted with
Whether to test for AIDS as a personal choice or to mandate testing
for certain populations are two of the greatest questions surrounding the
AIDS crisis. The HIV antibody test is widely accepted, yet there remains
a considerable debate about the reliability as well as the meaning of this tes .
Even with the positive result, there are other necessary criterion for the diag
nosis of AIDS (see Part 1.)
To understand the value of testing, it is helpful to understand what the
HIV antibody test measures. We know for certain that this test, when accu
rate, measures the presence of a specific antibody to the HIV virus (Human
Immunodeficiency Virus). Antibodies are chemicals released by the B-lym
phocytes (a white blood cell) to combat specific viruses or other micro
organisms. If the test is accurate, this means that the person either has
AIDS has the potential to develop AIDS, or has had the virus exposed to
their white blood cells and does not have AIDS. Because of the length of the
incubation of AIDS as well as other unknowns, government organizations
are hesitant to speak about the possibility of exposure without full 'nfect.om
November 1987's research from Johns Hopkins which showed three H
positive patients becoming negative, as well as similar reports from Finland in
Sheryl Warren (L), Executive D irector of the YWCA o f Portland and
Connie Carley cut the ribbon o ffic ia lly opening the Northeast branchl
I of the "Y ". Carley is the D irector of the new ly renovated fa c ility !
I located at 5630 N.E. Union Ave. The N.E. " Y " has a teen parent]
[program , after school program , a w om en's support services pro-
Ig ra m , and w ill be adding other programs.
Photo by Richard J. Brown
September, began a new perception of survivability.
Whether of not the test can accurately measure the condition of AIDS,
there remains a great concern for the accuracy of the test itself. As reported
in Foster Church's column in the November 23rd Oregonian: Congressman
Ron Wyden's committee heard testimony from government officials that in
some cases there existed false positive results in 90 percent of the cases,
(A false positive' means that a test that says a person has a positive result
is in error; the person actually does not have the condition.) I would think
that Oregon's state-regulated labs are much more accurate than this, but the
occurance of false positive as well as false negative results is a considerable
concern of testing. (A 'false negative' means that the test failed to pick up
the presence of the measured condition in the person.) With current diag
nosis of AIDS only requiring a positive HIV test with an indicator disease
such as bronchitis (see Part 1), the stigma, as well as fear associated with the
diaqnosis of AIDS, may now falsely affect many unfortunate people.
On the constructive side, when accurate, the HIV test can provide assu
rance of non-infection. Again, the long incubation period does not allow for
mailings.
The NE Conncetion is organized similarly to a social club. The main
focus of the Connection revolves around fund raising activities. The primary
goal is to increase social interaction with peer group and citizens in the com
munity, to improve clients' independence in terms of accessing the commu
nity for their needs, and to develop and use grooming skills. These efforts
result in closer contact to the community, enhanced self esteem and self-
respect, and gives a sense of accomplishment.
The money raised is used for activities such as extended trips to such
places as Cannon Beach for the day or Mt. Hood for an overnight camping
trip. Those objectives are achieved by engaging participation from the mem
bers in the Social and Recreational Committees. The main function of the
Social Committee is to plan dinners, parties, movies, etc. The Recreational
Committee's main function is to plan outings and special events and cele
|
i
I
I
i
brations.
At present, twenty-two people attend the NE Connection daily. Clients
range from young adults to senior citizens. Approximately 65% of the ac-
tively-enrolled clients are Black. With this in mind, holidays and festive cele
brations include such events as Martin Luther King's birthday and Black
History Month, as well as other ethnic celebrations and activities.
The NE Connection is staffed by two full-time personnel and one half
time position. There are also two volunteers. The staff works with the mem-
bers in areas of problem solving, such as access to housing; how to enroll
in college; and alcohol, drugs and mental illness.
Richard Loudd, the mental health specialist responsible for development
and implementation at the Connection, expresses the commitment of the
staff when he commented that he believes "that individuals, whether they
are chronically mentally ill or not, need to be perceived as active members of
the community, as opposed to being isolated and shunned away. Futher-
more, these individuals need to be accepted by the community.
The success of the NE Connection can be measured in terms of reduced
hospitalization and the achievement of a higher quality of life in terms o
adequate housing, clothing, medical resources and social resources.
The NE Connection strives to serve a segment of our community w ic
is less fortunate and hampered with a health problem. It makes a contri
bution by enabling these individuals to become contributing and viable citi
zens in the community, and it does so with intelligence and compassion.
We are a better community for their efforts.
Readers are invited to write to Community Mental Health Center at 128 NE Russell, Portland.
OR 97212; attention Danny Bell.
_________ ________________________ —
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Janice Lawrence. 7 years old. show s o ff her Cinnam on Bear t-s h irt
to Cinnam on Bear. The bear visited the children at the opening of
Ithe Northeast YWCA last Thursday.
Photo by Richard J. Brown
P olice B ureau
S eeks S exual
A ss a u lt S e lf
D e fe n s e
V o lu n te e rs
The Portland Police Bureau's sex
ual assault prevention program is
accepting applications during the
month of December from indivi
duals who are interested in tea ch
ing
"W o m e n s tre n g th "
self
defense and in providing public
education on the prevention of
sexual assault.
Applicants must be sensitive, arti
culate, willing to learn, and commit
ted to helping others prevent sexual
violence in their lives. Individuals
who are accepted into the training
program are required to commit
themselves to a minimum of six
months and are asked to work an
average of 10-12 hours per month.
Attendance at a monthly staff meet
ing/inservice in part of this commit
ment. All positions are non-paid.
This once a year training will be
held in March 1988. Applications
and more information are available
from the Portland Police Bureau's
sexual assault prevention program
at 796-3139.
M o b ile M e d ic a l
C are to
Close D oors
Effective January 1, Emanuel
Hospital & Health Center will no
longer operate its Mobile Medical
Care program. Increasing costs of
operation and the availability of
more appropriate delivery systems
jare cited as reasons.
Founded in 1980 at Holladay Park
Medical Center, the program was
originally known as Housecalls, Inc.
The program provided occupational
health services to local employers,
primarily in the shipping industry,
and medical assistance to tourists.
The service was later expanded to
include patients confined to their
homes.
Approximately 100 patients are
currently served by the Mobile Med
ical Care program. The majority
lives in private homes, nursing
homes and adult foster homes and
require weekly to bimonthly medical
attention. To ensure continuity of
care while phasing out this pro
gram, Emanual is channeling its
patients to existing primary care
physicians based on each patient's
illness and location.
Free Blood
Pressure
Screening
one-test certainty in many or most cases.
It is a necessity to currently utilize the HIV antibody test for the purposes
of collecting blood for medical purposes. Unfortunately, there is no 100-per-
cent guarantee that all the negative results are accurate. Still, it is presently
the most important screening tool for this industry.
There are many personal reasons that individuals or couples might want
to take the test. Some of these reasons include: having a baby with any
risk of parental infection; pre-sexual, fluid exchange between consenting
partners- or personal desire to test for exposure. Caution must accompany
the report of negative. As with the slow incubation period, the initial early
tests may still be negative; and, as reported in Part 1, diagnosis of Aids can
be made without a positive result.
The HIV test is a quick and functionally useful tool to the medical indus
ry but when we start talking of mandating testing for groups, the inaccuracy
of the test makes this proposition unacceptable. Considering the societal
response to people diagnosed with AIDS (i.e., exclusion from school, jobs,
or whole communities), the very real possibility of no insurance coverage
for AIDS with the exclusion of any of its broad range of associated condr
lions, as well as the personal grief associated with being told you have AIDS
in error, mandated testing might result in tens of thousands of people exper
iencing false belief in not having AIDS as well as others believing they have
the condition in error.
Whether to get the HIV test is a personal decision. Because of the
above mentioned concerns, testing should include the maximum confiden
tiality possible. Negative results may need repeating in 6 months, again in
one year from risk, and possibly again at 18-24 months. Reports from Fin
land have shown no antibody formation from more than a year (october 87).
having the test done by a licensed health care provider is essential to the
testing procedure. The need for personal testing should include both risk
to exposure in the past five years (possibly even longer) as well as common
symptoms (see Part 1).
. . .
. . . ,:»u
There is the helper/suppressor ratio test, which, when combined with
total numbers of cells (and when accurate), can give invaluable information
about the present condition of your immune system. Again, this test can be
obtained from most health care providers licensed to draw blood.
Next week. Concepts of "health", how you get AIDS and who can
get it.
PORTLAND OBSERVER
"The Eyes and Ears of the Community'
288-0033
NEW PATIENT SPECIAL'
Free blood pressure and chole
sterol screening throughout North/
Northeast Portland. We encourage
you to visit our clinic . . . if your
cholesterol level has not been
checked within the last 6 months.
You must be over 18 for the cho
lesterol test.
Hypertension (high blood pres
sure) and cholesterol information
will be available.
The screening will take place
December 19, 1987, 10-1 p.m. at
Berean Baptist Church, 4822 N.
Vancouver Avenue, Portland, Ore
gon.
Contact Aleem Shabazz at 284
1234, ext. 191, Minority Outreach
Program, for more information.
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