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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 2011)
news East Portland: The rosewood Initiative W hen Joanne Alaniz saw a woman prostituting on the street in her neighborhood, she didn’t reach for a phone to call police. She went up to the woman and offered to help. “I’ve been where you’re at,” she said. Alaniz learned the woman was drug addicted and des- perate. So she helped the woman find an in- patient drug center and shared her own story, telling how Narcotics Anonymous had helped her stay off drugs. The woman was accepted into treatment immedi- ately and Alaniz plans to be there for her when she returns to the communi- ty. “I walked her down there,” she says. “Sometimes you need to have somebody take you by the hand and help you get help. I wish somebody had done that for me. “ Alaniz is co-director of RISE a new nonprofit group of community activists in the Rosewood area, about 15 blocks around the Max hub of 162nd and Burnside Street. The area 8 known as Rockwood, but residents prefer Rosewood. RISE, which stands for Rosewood Initiative Sisters Empowerment is part of the Rosewood Initiative, an action hub for neighbor- AmeriCorps program. “People here have less access to resources such as transportation, and less money.” The Rosewood Initiative operates out of a building at 609 SE 162nd Ave. A grant from Multnomah County will pay the rent for one year. The building is open to everyone in the com- munity, although it’s still under construction. A café, still waiting for organizers to take it on, is slated for that space. “We have water and ginger ale, chips and salsa, and a chessboard, and a ping pong table. That’s all you need, right?” says Glass. Valerie Salazar, executive director of RISE, said the community-based organiza- tion will tackle the areas problems, drugs, gangs, lack of opportunity and crime, from the grassroots up. “We have a passion and a Sometimes you need to have somebody take you by the hand hood residents who want to improve the neighborhood, home to almost 6,000 peo- ple. “There are a lot of people who are struggling in the neighborhood, so poverty is an issue,” says Jenny Glass, a RISE board member who works with the Rosewood Initiative as a community builder through the See rosewood on page 10 Page 10 The Portland Skanner october 12, 2011 Our Families Black gays and lesbians and their families are the stars of a new video by Basic rights Oregon. The video is part of the Our Families Project depicting the struggle of families of color. “Often times our communities seek to separate the two identities, you are either gay or transgender or a person of color. Our Families reveals that our strength lies in being all of who we are,” said Ariel Cerrud, of Basic rights Oregon’s Our Families Project.” The campaign includes three videos and newspaper ads, which show the struggles faced by people of color who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. more than 40 straight community leaders from various communities of color signed a statement affirming that LGBT families of color are part of the fabric of the community and that communities are strongest when all families have the resources, respect and love they need to thrive. To raise the visibility of LGBT families of color, Basic rights Oregon interviewed families from Latino, African American, and Asian and Pacific Islander communities, creating three videos that feature first-hand accounts of what it means to live as a person of color who is also lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. “Basic rights Oregon believes that our communities are strongest when all families are respected. The videos highlight that families come in all shapes, sizes, sexualities and identities. Our diversity makes for a strong and vibrant community,” said Jeana Frazzini, Executive director.
