Page B2
lune 13, 2007
Survivors Heal
con tin u ed
Silence after Loss
fro m M etro
dressed pain in (he African A m eri
can community led her into a lifetime
serving others and helped shape her
non-profit Senseless Violence Leads
to Silence.
Operating out o f a welcoming,
split-level building on C olum bia
Boulevard, Bell typically serves six
to a dozen families each week through
group counseling services.
Clients meet in a room encircled
by chairs with stuffed animals for
comfort, overlooked by a photograph
of Bell’slate daughter, Asia. Dozens
ofsmallerphotographs fill the shelves
and walls throughout the building -
pictures o f family and friends living
and past. N ew spaperclippings fill an
office wall, documenting B ell's tire
less advocacy for justice in A sia’s
murder in 2002 and her subsequent
work against community violence.
It is here she encourages adults to
deal with grief through a special blend
o f familiarity and even gospel music
and potlucks. A nother cheerful
space behind the meeting room al
lows kids to write, paint and play as
they deal with grief in theirown way.
And in a unique spin, grievers are
encouraged to follow suit in Bell’s
pursuit o f social change, by making
t-shirts to memorialize their loved
ones.
For Bell this is a very personal way
o f healing; she continues to make
and wear customized t-shirts with
A sia’s picture.
“For them, the t-shirt brings that photo bv M ark W asiiington TT he P ortland O bserver
person back to life for one moment," Perlia B ell s ta n d s o u ts id e h e r S e n s e l e s s V io len ce L e a d s to S ile n c e G rief S e r v ic e s
o ffic e s a t 1 2 3 2 A N.E. C olum bia Blvd.
she explained.
And when it com es to the coun
seling, Bell has created an environ
ment where there is no shame in how
clients share their grief.
"This is a place where people can
identify," Bell said. “I f snotastruggle
to tell your story here and you can
feel ok opening up, even if your child
died o f AIDS or drugs.’
"It’s not about what they did in
life,” she added, “ it’s about that you
loved them.”
It isn’t always about the office
space, either; Bell has counseled
people on the sidewalk, in the gro
cery store, during narcotics anony
mous and at church.
“People don’t al way s 1 ike to open
up, so you have got to meet them
where they’re at," she pointed out.
Sometimes clients will call Bell at
odd hours, especially if they are fac
ing the initial shock o f a lost loved
one.
It’s during these times Bell will
stop by and sit quietly with them.
“This gives m e time to see how
the grief process is really needed in
this com m unity,” she said.
Bell has plans to expand her ser
vices and was recently awarded a
$5,000 grant from M cKenzie River
Gathering Foundation, an organiza
tion that funds grass-roots groups.
She is also seeking volunteers to
facilitate counseling groups. There
will be several volunteering oppor
tunities this summer, including prepa
ration for the annual Senseless Vio
lence Leads to Silence com munity
march in September. For services or
more informationcall 503-421 -0078.
Tony
H o p so n
Distinguished
Service Recognized
Tony H opson, president and C E O o f the
Portland youth services organization S elf
E nhancem ent Inc., is one o f three O regonians
to receive a D istinguished Service aw ard from
the U niversity o f Oregon.
H opson, a form er teacher, counselor and
coach in Portland Public Schools, founded SEI
in 1981 as an organization that has gained
national recognition for its success in provid
ing o p p o rtu n ities to P o rtlan d 's inner-city
youth.
T he organization serves more than 2,000
young people each year. Its C enter for S elf
E nhancem ent, w ith a variety o f activities and
services for youth and fam ilies, is rapidly
becom ing a hub o f its north and northeast
Portland com m unity.
T he U niversity o f O regon faculty uses the
aw ard to honor those w ho have used their
skills and know ledge to m ake great contribu
tions to the cultural developm ent o f Oregon
and society as a whole.
Ruth Bascom , longtim e local politician and
Eugene's first w om an mayor, and Stuart Allan,
d u b b e d O re g o n 's " M ic h e la n g e lo o f
m apm akers" by an O regonian colum nist, were
the other D istinguished Service aw ard w in
ners to be honored during spring com m ence
ment S aturday, June 16 at M cA rthur C ourt in
Eugene.
MMMMNMNMMMMMMMMMNNNNMtiNNMNMNMMNMMNNMMMMMNMNNNNMMMI^^
Authentic Eatery
con tin u ed
fro m M etro
lure is a $3 hotdog, fries and soda
deal, with chili, fish sticks o r chicken
w ings for a little extra.
John Neal fired up a barbeque
arom a on a recent Thursday evening
that lured in acouple sushi chefs from
dow n the street. They enjoyed their
m eal. but ev6n food experKtm vc been
surprised by O dessa’s authentic fla
vor.
Tea, yam s and baked beans tickle
the sw eet-sensitive part o f the tongue
like now here else in town. Robyn
Legendary Label Celebrates 50 years
Lew is serves astonishingly sw eet,
spicy and saucy barbeque, unless
the custom er specifies otherw ise.
O d essa's uniqueness requires the
staff to take any sort o f requests.
In a town craw ling with vegetar
ians, a barbeque place like O d essa's
alw ays offers stir-fried veggies with
rice and side dishes to offset the
turkey-irtftfsed greens.
T he inclusiveness extends to art
ists, m any o f w hom show in the café,
and neighbors like G em W ine Cellar,
w hich provides ferm ented refresh
ments.
Stax Records has
plenty of soul
(AP) — The sound was never exactly
polished, but it had plenty o f soul, and the
M em phis sound created at Stax Records has
found its own special place in the history o f
A m erican music.
Som e o f pop's m ost cherished recordings
cam e out o f the Stax studio, including Sam &
D ave's "Soul Man," O tis R ed d in g 's"(Sitting
O n ) The D ock o f the Bay," and I saac H ayes'
O scar-w in n in g "T hem e from S haft."
Now, 50 years after a white country-fiddle
A d isp la y o f 4 5 rp m re co rd s a t th e S ta x
R e c o rd s m u s e u m in M e m p h is, Tenn.
(AP p h o to )
player started dow n the road that led him to
open a recording studio in a predom inantly
black, inner-city neighborhood, the Stax la-
bel is trying to m ake a com eback.
"Stax was a great confluence o f music and
culture. It was a bi-racial, creative hom e for
artists in the South at a very critical tim e in
history," said R oger Sm ith o f the Concord
M usic G roup, the label's current ow ner.
"That sound was very much o f a period,
but the spirit behind that and the soul music
that it created continues today."
Blossom ing in the 1960s and '70s, Stax
ow ed its success as m uch to serendipity as
to design, with artists like Redding, Sam &
Dave, Eddie Floyd, C arla Thom as, the Staple
Singers and dozens o f others creating music
on the fly.
Nineteenth explosion
CONCERT
Featuring
Malaco Recording Artist
OPENING ACT
David Sea
1
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XSL-
Hosted bv
J O E “BEAN”
KELLER
Singing from his latest C D
"Love makes the world go around "
June 16th & 17th
Yam Yam's Southern Cooking and Barbecue
Parking lot
7339 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
6pm - Until (both days)
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M IC H A IL 'B
1
Oregon
Convention
Center
w
tips!
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