www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
November 29, 2000
(Lije ^ o rtla n b (Ohserurr
n nt nt u n i t y
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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
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