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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 2000)
www.portlandobserver.com Committed to Cultural Diversity November 29, 2000 (Lije ^ o rtla n b (Ohserurr n nt nt u n i t y a 1 c tt h a r (G Food and Toys Drive T he N A A C P at Portland State U niver sity is holding its first annual Food and Toys Drive. W e need the com m unity’s help to m ake it a success. Y ou can help by giving non-perishable foods; give toys or clothing for hom eless and needy children; and give m onetary donation. For further questions or inform ation, please call our V ice President, Cynthia Sartin at 503/287- 2833. Seniors Wrap It Up! Portland Parks & R ecreation’s Senior R ecreation program is offering a special craft class for seniors (age 55 & up) ju st in tim e for the holidays - G reeting Cards, Gift Tags & Bags. D iscover sim ple and inex pensive w ays to use fabric, paper, and your im agination to add a special touch to g ift bags an d tags. In stru c to r M arie H aydon w ill lead the class at the Y W CA- N orth B ranch, 8010 N. C harleston, on Thursday, Dec. 7,1 -2:30p.m . Call 503/823- 4328. Fashions Benefit School N ew York, N ew York, the Fashion Capi tol o f the W orld, is the them e o f the 2nd A nnual Fashion Show at K ing School, a fundraiser to benefit students. A rea resi dents are invited to attend the event, Dec. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the King School cafeteria. D onations o f $2 for adults and $ 1 for chil d ren w ill be accepted at the door. The New' Overcomers B reak the chains o f addictions and join the N ew O vercom ers on W ednesday Eve nings, 7 p.m. at Rivers ofL ife Church in the M elody Ballroom on 6th and Alder. Receive personal prayer for healing and a loving fam ily environm ent. C om e as you are. No ju dgem ent and confidentiality is assured. Call 503/230-1288. A Benefit for Disabled Students PHA M E A cadem y’s third annual W in- te rG alaissetfo rF n d ay .D ec. 1 atthe W orld T rade C enter, 121 SW Salm on St. on P o rtland’s beautiful riverfront. A silent auction and light buffet will run from 6 - 7 p.m., with perform ances from 7 :3 0 - 9 p.m. Tickets are $30 and can be ordered by calling 503/973-5815. Web Weaving SECTION Lawm akers Break Silence on M ental H ealth Cultural, economic, and medical barriers still exist for minorities seeking timely, effective treatment Sen. A v e l G o rd ly , D -P o rtla n d an d R ep . Jo A n n B o w m a n , D- P o rtla n d , re c e n tly a tte n d e d the 7 th A n n u a l H e a lth C a re C o n f e r en c e in In d ia n a p o lis s p o n so re d by th e N a tio n a l B la c k C a u c u s o f S ta te L e g is la to rs , th e In d ia n a B la c k L e g is la tiv e C a u c u s an d E li L illy Co. “ Every y ear in our com m unity, thousands o f our residents suffer from m ental illness, personally, or as a fam ily m em ber. It's tim e that w e give m ental illness as m uch or more attention as other diseases and deal w ith directly through our churches, com m unity based organizations, and governm ent entities,” said G ordly. “The cost to o u r society and the im pact to fam ilies can no longer be ignored.” Ideas and proposals from around the country w ere review ed, including the creation o f m ental health courts designed to deal w ith crim es com m itted by the m entally ill, out o f the crim inal ju stice system and in a program run by professionals w ith know ledge o fm en tal health issues. O thers topics included financing the cost o f m edication for the m entally ill w ithout public assistance or private insurance. B ow m an, G ordly and S enator-elect M argaret C arter plan to co convene a com m unity m ental health sum m it next year focused on the m ental health issues affecting A frican A m ericans. The Planned sum m it will replicate a m odel sum m it held in P hiladelphia last year. “ It is m y hope that through com m unity discussions w e w ill be able to rem ove som e o f the stigm a associated w ith m ental illness and help people understand that treatm ents are available that m ake a quality o f life possible. W e m ust also w ork to m ake treatm ent available on dem and in our com m unities,” said Bowman. In O ctober, Gov. John K itzhaber, D -O re., in proclaim ing M ental H ealth A w areness W eek, noted that “a new perception o f m ental illness is em erging - one that focuses on early intervention, effective treatm ent, rehabilitation and recovery. A dvances are prom pted by better science and m ore research, the inform ation revolution, the im portant role consum ers plays in advocating for them selves, and fam ily m em bers who speak ou, for their loved ones." Each year, the health care conference brings together state legisla tors, health care advocates, and top level health care professionals from around the nation to discuss pressing issues in the health care arena. "The 2000 conference focused on m ental health disparity issues for the A frican A m erican com m unity. Crews Begin Work on Local Landmark A construction crane with scaffolding now surrounds the former Rosemont and Villa St. Rose School in the Piedmont neighborhood o f north and northeast Portland. The landmark and long-time vacant structure is being refurbished into senior housing as part o f a Portland Development Corporation sponsored venture. B Teaching Self-Defense .! BURGER I ISLAND / -- y Calling AH Kids K ids C all, a m in istry o f N ew B e g in n in gs C h ristian C en ter, is a B ible S tory H o tlin e p ac k ed full o f fun for k ids o f all ages! E ach w eek K ids C all features an ex c itin g B ib le S to ry and a S crip tu re M em o ry V erse. O v er 5,000 kids have c a lle d K ids C ali since its in cep tio n in Ju n e 1998! K ids C all is a v a ila b le 24/7 at 5 0 3/2 6 1 -9 8 0 3 . I f you w ould like to d is trib u te K ids C all ca rd s, p le a se call 503/ 256-6050,ext. 223. Artful Designs M ic ro s o ft P u b lis h e r a n d A d o b e P ag eM ak er are tw o o f the m ost p opular p ro g ram s a v a ila b le tod ay fo r d e sk to p p u b lish in g w in n in g p ro p o sals, flyers, b ro ch u res, n ew sletters and o th e r visual in v itatio n s into y o u r b u sin e ss o r event. Jo in us for tw o th o ro u g h ly en jo y ab le se ssio n s on each o f these so ftw are p ack ag es. A s an add ed bon u s, each class w ill include p ro fe ssio n a l layout d esign tip s. P u b lish er 1 is o ffe re d on M onday, D ec. 4 at A v alo n T ec h n o lo g ie s, located at 607 SW Idaho. C all 5 03/224-5959. (P hoto bv M ichael L f . ightos /P ortland O bserver ) Fire Destroys NE Landmark C reate a W eb page with M icrosoft Front Page. Just bring your ideas for a basic business or fam ily W eb site - include pictures or graphics on disk if you have som e available. N o prior experience re quired. The class will be held at A valon Technologies, 607 SW Idaho on Tuesday, Dec. 5 from 6 - 9 p.m. Call 503/224-5959. A re you interested in becom ing a self- d efe n se te a c h e r? O pen H and, a self- d efe n se and c o n flic t reso lu tio n center, is o ffe rin g a free class to train in stru c to rs. W e w o u ld like the class to co n sist o f w om en o f co lo r, w om en o v er 50 years old, w om en w ith disabilities, teen women, etc. A p p lic atio n dead lin e is D ec. 15. C lass begins in January. C a ll 503/493- 1000. B A Northeast Portland landmark is destroyed by fire. (P hoto bv M ark W ashingtos /P orti . and O bserv er ) urger Island, a restaurant that has served generations of northeast Portland resi dents, was destroyed by fire last week. Portland firefighters were called to the restaurant at 6921 N.E. Killingsworth at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday when a hit-and-run driver crashed into the side of the building and sheared off a natural gas pipe line. The impact triggered a fire that swept through the building, causing a total loss estimated at $125,000 to the building and $60,000 in contents. Two people inside the restaurant at the time of the impact were lucky to get out alive, narrowly escaping injury, a spokesman for the Portland Fire Bureau said. Tri-Met’s Ticket Office Moves T he G a lle ria is n o w h o m e to T ri-M e t’s d o w n to w n tic k e t o f fic e w h ile c o n s tru c tio n is u n d e rw a y at th e a g e n c y ’s fo rm e r P io n e e r C o u rth o u s e S q u a re o ffic e . T he G a lle ria o ffic e is lo c a te d a t S o u th w e st 1 Oth an d M o rriso n an d w ill b e o p e n from 8 a m . to 5 p .m . M o n d a y th ro u g h F riday. T h e G a lle r ia lo c a tio n w ill o f fe r a ll th e s e rv ic e s fo rm a lly a v a ila b le at th e c o u r t h o u se sq u a re , in c lu d in g , tra n s it tic k e t s a le s, b ic y c le p e rm it sa le s an d tra in in g v id e o s an d sp e c ia l n e e d s in fo rm a tio n an d a s s is ta n c e . W h en th e P io n e e r S q u a re o ffic e r e o p e n s n e x t su m m e r, th e sq u a re w ill b e co m e th e c e n te r fo r to u r is t in fo rm a tio n in th e re g io n . It w ill fe a tu re a fu ll-s e rv ic e v i s i t o r ’s c e n te r w ith a T ri-M e t tic k e t o ffic e , P o r t lan d V is ito rs A s s o c ia tio n In fo rm a tio n C e n te r an d a m u lti-m e d ia p r e s e n ta tio n a b o u t r e g io n a l a ttra c tio n s . Japanese Visit Portland To Learn About Hospice Care Health care woikers from Japan arc taking a special interest in Providence Portland Medical Center’s SupportiveCareTeam, a unique groupof health care professionals that offer medical and moral support to dying patients and their families. Japanese nurses recently met with A lina Lgerman, the Providence team's nurse coordinator and counselor. With the help o f a translator, she addressed questions about cancer pain manage m ent hospice care, comfort measures for end-of- life care and how to autonomously advocate for patients Hierc are vast differences between the American and Japanese cultures in end-of-life care. For example.inJapan, pixirprognosisisotten withheld from a loved one's health care These decisions may not always reflect the patient’s wishes. "In American culture," Lgerman told the nurses, “we try to honor a patient’s wishes and help the family understand and support it." Deal ing with dying more openly is new in Japanese culture, but the situation is slowly changing. Lgerman also stressed the need for healthcare workers to come together to discuss their feelings about caring for the dying and to let others know when they need help. She said this improvescare for the dying and let others know when they need help. She said this improves care tor themselves and the patients. Steven Toussaint a clinical development spe cialist for Providence Portland Medical (.'enter, helped arrange the cross-cultural meetings “The Japanese nurses feel more comfortable and w ere encouraged to talk with chronically ill patientsafter their learning experience at the hospital." he said. Ufe care with healthcare workers from Japan 1 1
