Little League Team Victorious
M etro
Portland's Peninsula Little League returns
home with four wins in the Urban
Initiative Jamboree in Williamsburg, Pa.
See Sports, page B6
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Get Crafty
Merging metal and fiber into art will be the
discussion during a general meeting of
the Columbia Stitchery Guild, Wednes
day, June 13 at 7 p.m. at the Interstate
Firehouse Cultural Center in north Port
land. For more information, call 503-823-
2070.
Day of the African Child
On Saturday, June 16 there will be free
admission to the World Forestry Center
Discover Museum for children under 18
for the Day of the African Child. There
will be live African entertainment, a mar
ketplace, story telling, food and crafts.
For more information, call 503-488-2117.
Health Forum
On Tuesday, June 19, a men and young
men’s health forum will provide informa
tion on easy ways to prevent and detect
health problems early on in acomfortable
environment. Gift cards will be given to all
males who attend the session at the
Northeast Health Center, 5329 N.E. Mar
tin Luther King Jr. BI vd. For more infor
mation, call 503-988-3387, extension
22242.
Hospice Volunteers Needed
Summer training sessions for hospice
volunteers start June 22. The Legacy
Hospice Service volunteers must commit
to four hours per week for one year. For
more information, contact volunteer co
ordinator Ashley Cox at 503-225-6157.
Stroller Class for Moms
Are you a new mom or do you have a
toddler? Get some exercise and meet
other moms at the free Stroller Strides
class, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Tuesdays and
Thursday at Peninsula Park. All you
need is a stroller, water, a mat or towel
and com fortable shoes. Call Helen at
503-260-5018 for more information.
Youth Summer Sports
July 5 through July 27, the summeryouth
sports program is held on the Portland
State University campus, providing low-
income youths ages 10-16, with sports
instruction, field trips, a free medical exam
and two free meals daily. Registration is
open now. Visit palkids.org.
Survivors Heal fn,m Silence after Loss
Grief support
with a cultural
perspective
by S arah B lount
T he P ortland O bserver
Community advocate Perlia
Bell believes that the way indi
viduals deal with grief depends
greatly on their culture and envi
ronment. She also believes many
problems in society are caused by
a lack of grief expression.
As a non-profit founder of grief
counseling tailored for the Afri
can American community, Bell’s
credentials come from a lifetime
mingled with the great loss. After
countless funerals spanning de
cades, she decided to change the
way she approached the grieving
process.
“I was one o f those people
who were numb,” she said. "Death
started to become an event in
stead of a tragedy: attend the
funeral, take time off from work
and cry.”
But the pain got to be too great
so she entered counseling. It was
through these sessions Bell
learned she had not grieved for
her father's death 20 years before,
or let go of her brother’s death
from 1996. But before she could
adequately address this grief. Bell
had to feel safe and welcome in
the environment of group coun
seling. She said she felt alone
when, as was often the case, she
was the only African American in
the group.
Instead of benefiting from a-
group setting, she was isolated in
her loss. There was no comfort in
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Perlia Bell, who launched the non-profit Senseless Violence Leads to Silence in 2002, has developed her organization to
include grief counseling space tailored to African Americans.
I would come in [to therapy], and it
was just my loss, and I would leave
feeling a little worse.
- Perlia Bell
sharing how her loved ones had
passed, because her experiences
were worlds apart from others in
the room.
“I would come in, and it was
just my loss," she said, “and I
would leave feeling a little worse."
Afteryears of attending differ-
ent counseling centers Bell real
ized the problem wasn’t her; it
was that the groups weren't the
right fit.
She also learned that grievers
are at high risk of shutting down
if they have negative or lonely
experiences with therapy. She has
watched individuals pass their
feelings of isolation on to their
children, who grow up thinking
they don’t need grief services.
"That’s the cycle going on,”
Bell said.
W itnessing the under-ad-
continued
on page B2
Authentic Eatery Struggles for Recognition
Washington Park Shuttle
Finding adherents
for Odessa’s Café
Summer service isevery 15 minutes from
10 a.m to 7 p.m. with more than 10 stops,
including the Oregon Zoo and the Japa
nese Gardens. The shuttle runs daily
through Labor Day. RegularTri-Met fare
applies.
by R aymond R endleman
T he P ortland O bserv er
Interstate Farmers Market
A farmers market is held each W ednes
day through Sept. 26 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
just off Interstate Avenue between Over
look Park and the Interstate Kaiser
PermanenteCampus. The market is known
for its variety of quality fresh local pro
duce, baked goods, cut flowers, artisan
cheese, meat and fish.
Planet Jupiter
On the second Monday of each month
through August, at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., the
M HCC Planetarium Sky Theater explores
the planet that outshines every other
planet in the sky except Venus. Visitors
will learn how to locate Jupiter and its four
moons as well as other planets. Admis
sion is $1.
Women in Community Service
Volunteer female mentors are being
sought by Women in Community Service
to work with incarcerated women at the
Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. The
women provide support and encourage
ment for inmates transitioning from prison
back into the community. For informa
tion, call 503-570-6614.
Vancouver Outdoors Market
Saturdays and Sundays, through Oct. 27,
the Vancouver Outdoor Market will fea
ture fresh produce, food, and arts and
crafts. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on
Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sun
days.
Parenting Classes
N ew bornsdon’tcom e with instruction
manuals but parents and parents-to-
be can attend classes through Provi
dence Health Systems to learn about a
variety of topics from pain and ch ild
birth to breastfeeding to infant CPR
and much more. For a schedule of
events, call 503-574-6595 or visit:
prov idence.org/classes.
photo by R aymond
R endi
eman /T he
P orti
ani » O bserv er
Co-owner of Northeast Broadway's Odessa's Café Will Brock (left) discusses the restaurant business with server
Robyn Lewis and chef John Neal.
The plan seemed simple enough: You
start making down-home Chicago cuisine
in a town without much barbecue beef
brisket. Then you wait for the customers.
But. no matter how airtight the plans
are, bank officials want their restaurants to
be making money afterthey log in that first
key year of business.
The summer could not be long enough
for Will Brock, who has co-ow ned
O dessa's Café with his sister Mari since
September.
Just when Odessa's was about to break
even, a business partner named Carl Nash
pulled out his investment last month.
Now Will is saying, "I'm needing to get
more people in here so I can keep the
restaurant."
Knowing that potential customers will
like the food upon trying it, he' II do almost
anything to fill the 60-person capacity.
“I let a lot of people try the collard
greens free, because a lot of people haven't
realized how much they love them yet," he
says.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays Odessa's
also offers $5.95 senior lunches that in
clude two barbeque ribs, cornbread and
side dishes. For high-school students, the
continued
on page H2
Saint Andrews Legal Clinic Sponsors Justice Race
Lacing up to help
those in need
St. Andrew Legal Clinic will hold its
annual Race for Justice to raise dona
tions for legal services for low-income
fam ilies on Saturday, June 30 at 10:15
a.m. starting from Madeleine Parish. 3 123
N.E. 24th Ave.
Both walkers and runners will partici
pate in a 5k course. A kids' '4 and 16 mile
fun run also will be held for children
ages three to 10, starting at 9:45 a.m.
Packet pickup and day-of-event regis
tration begins at 9 a.m. A post-event
party will immediately follow the race in
the Madeleine Parish Hall, where par
ticipants will enjoy free pizza, bever
ages. live music and awards.
St. Andrew Legal Clinic is a nonprofit
organization providing individuals and
families with legal representation since
1979 from its main office at 807 N.E.
A lberta St. and branch offices in W ash
ington and Clackam as counties.
The goal of the justice race is to raise
$100,000, all of which will go directly
toward helping more low-income fam i
lies with the legal assistance they des-
perately need. About 350 walkers and
runners are expected to register this
year.
The $40 pre-registration fee is waived
for those who raise $I(M) or more in
pledges. On-site registration also will be
available for $45. The kids' fun run is $5.
For more inform ation or to register,
call 503-281 - 1500, extension 24 or go to
salcgroup.org.