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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 2011)
October 19, 2011 ffl?e Ç ortlanh (Obseruei Mississippi Alberta North. Portland d u n - j - i r~ Page II Vancouver East County Beaverton M E T R O m u i U H i IV IIN D Y V IX I P E R / 1 HE PORTLAND OBSERVEIi -J Paul Corah Portland Fire and Rescue public information officer, spoke about the rising rates o f suicides and the need for the community to work together to help educate and bring awareness about prevention methods, during a suicide prevention press conference on Thursday at Waterfront Park. Suicides on the Rise by M indy C ixiper T he P ortland O bserver A car plunged through the sea wall and disappeared into the Willamette River. Despite attempts by Portland Fire & Rescue divers to pull the woman from the vehicle, she was found dead once the rescue team arrived. The death, which oc curred last month, was determined In an effort to tackle the rising to be a suicide. rate of suicides within the state, the A ccording to the A m erican non-profit organization Oregon Part Foundation for Suicide Prevention, nership is on a mission to spread a Oregon has the eighth highest rate message of hope and prevention for of suicides within the country. residents and their loved ones. In 2010, 670 Oregon lives were According to Tom Parker, direc taken as a result of suicide, and the tor of communications for the non numbers keep climbing. profit, Oregon Partnership works Delivering a message of hope and prevention diligently every day to promote sponded to at least once a week,” healthy communities through drug said Parker. “Oregon Partnership and alcohol awareness, drug pre exists for one reason, and that is to vention programs and a 24-hour prevent suicide.” crisis line for treatment referrals and Usually associated with prob suicide intervention. lems that can be solved, he said the “Between the Portland Fire and number of lives taken from suicide Rescue and the Portland Police continued on page 19 Bureau, a suicide attempt is re ‘Our Families’ Campaign Embraces Diversity Basic Rights Oregon builds support for LGBTQ issues Leading up to National Coming Out Day, which took place on Oct 11, the local organiza tion Basic Rights Oregon launched a public education campaign dedicated to raise aware- Jeana Frazzini ness on what it’s like to live as a person of color who is also lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Included in Basic Rights Oregon’s ‘Our Fami lies' project are three videos and newspaper ads, which depict the struggles of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender minority families in an effort to educate the Portland community . “Often times our communities seek to sepa rate the two identities— you are either gay or transgender or a person of color,” said Ariel Cerrud, a member of Basic Rights Oregon ’ s Oi Families Project. “’Our Families’ reveals th, our strength lies in being all of who we are.” Basic Rights Oregon is the state’s chief ac vocacy, education and political organizatio dedicated to ending discrimination based o sexual orientation and gender identity. Th group interviewed families from Latino, Africa continued on page 19
