Community Health Resources

Getting help:

Readings & Resources

Our medic skills, anti-oppression principles, and good patient interactions will help us navigate many situations where we would otherwise feel powerless, but we can only do so much in isolation. Building queer/radical/community-based infrastructure means knowing what resources are available to us when we reach the limits of our scope, and how to access them.

This section of the website is specific to the Portland Metro Area and some other parts of the Pacific Northwest, and contains resources we’ve compiled from the local community, online resources, and the Rose City Resource Guide (produced by Street Roots Newspaper). This is such a good resource that, rather than attempt recreating it, we’ve just highlighted and annotated a few items—and added our own (NOTE: THE ONLINE GUIDE IS & HAS BEEN OFFLINE; CONTACT STREETROOTS OR ASK A VENDOR TO ACCESS THEIR LISTINGS)

This is just the beginning – go out and find the resources near you, and the people and places you can count on in various types of crisis—and tell us about them in an email (rosehipmedics@gmail.com). The amount of work we put into building and connecting with these resources dictates the amount we are able to offer our patients, friends, and families, chosen or otherwise. Take the time to learn what’s out there now, before you are faced with an emergency. Our communities are only as strong as the networks we build to care for one another.

2-1-1: a searchable online and phone/hotline resource list for a number of social services throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington

Don’t Die Stay Safe: Barebones website listing extensive selection of mental health, substance use and disability resources. Contains physical healthcare, education, housing, utilities and other assistance programs as well.

ACCESSING SERVICES

PHYSICAL OR GENERAL HEALTHCARE

Outside In Medical Clinic: Primary and complementary care (herbal, acupuncture, mental health) for houseless youth, housed trans folks, immigrants and others. Also hormones, STI testing/treatment, contraception, needle exchange, and outreach—plus referrals for array of housing & other services. Bilingual staff. 1132 SW 13th Ave, Portland, OR  503-535-3800
Daily walk-ins (arrive early AM) and appointments.
Trans-only clinic 1st Tues each month, requires appointment

Coalition of Community Health Clinics:  provides referrals to a selection of holistic and conventional community clinics around the Portland area. Website has a search engine based on location, demographics, and type of care available. 503-546-4991
Some clinics:

– NARA Indian Health Clinics
– National College of Natural Medicine
– North by Northeast Clinic
– OHSU Family Medicine at Richmond

Integrate PDX: Seven Star Gongfu Community Clinic offers sliding scale Chinese Medicine. Saturdays noon-4pm; 2025 NE MLK Jr. Blvd Other locations offer acupuncture, massage, natural pharmacy, classes and other
Chinese and Naturopathic medicines at locations around the area. (971) 302 – 6614

QUEER & TRANS – SPECIFIC RESOURCES

EQUI Institute — LGBTQI+ specific healthcare (employing naturopaths, therapists, acupuncturists, & other modalities), offered out of Q Center. 4115 N Mississippi Ave; (503) 459-2584

SMYRC:  (Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center) Free drop-in counseling, resource center, skill-building, art, yoga, library for youth under age 23; 2406 NE Sandy Blvd #100, Portland; (503) 872-9664

Q Center: Free drop-in support groups, library, events, and other resources–related to gender and sexuality. 4115 N Mississippi Ave, Portland; (503) 234-7837

Resources PDX: “Trans/gender/queer resources in the Portland Metropolitan area” Searchable database of medical and non-medical resources, listing cost, accessibility, focus and gender/sexuality experience; associated with the Q Center

SEXUAL HEALTH

Cascade AIDS Project (CAP): Rapid HIV testing (20 min) and prevention services. Housing, medication, mental health, and other support services for HIV+ people; Portland, Beaverton, Clackamas, Clark Co, & Oregon City locations

PIVOT: Free HIV and other STI testing for men who have sex with men (trans-inclusive). Drop-in space with educational, social programming
209 SW 4th Ave, PDX

Multnomah County Health Dept: STI Clinic offers testing & treatment, and vaccination, sliding-scale; also operates mobile needle exchange & HIV primary care 426 SW Stark St, PDX | 503-988-3700

Planned Parenthood: Low-cost STI testing & treatment, contraception, pregnancy testing, gynecological exams, abortion & more. Call for nearest center: 1-888-576-PLAN

EMERGENCY MENTAL HEALTH

Cascadia Behavioral Health: Provides a large range of emergency and non-emergency mental health services in Portland Metro Area.

–Project Respond: Mobile trained crisis response, dispatched by Crisis Lines and Police. Often works in close coordination with police—meaning that interactions may result in Police initiating “Medical Hold
–Urgent Walk-In Clinic: is intended to avoid or precede hospitalization; provides counseling, medication prescribing, and referrals for “affordable mental-health treatment”; 2415 NE 43rd Ave, Ste 100, Portland (7am-10:30pm everyday)

Multnomah County Crisis Center (503-988-4888) 24-hour hotline with trained staff to support people experiencing mental health crisis; offer referrals and non-emergency resources; works with Project Respond (mobile crisis intervention)

–Washington County Crisis Line: (503) 291-9111
–Marion County Crisis Line: (503) 585-4949
–Clackamas County Crisis Line: (503) 655-8585

Oregon Partnership:  Support hotlines for suicide prevention, substance abuse, military/veterans, youth (staffed by teens), and mental health in Spanish. (Spanish line is not staffed all hours, but can leave messages). Lines are staffed by well-trained volunteers.
(800) 273-TALK & (800) SUICIDE – Suicide prevention
(800) 923-4357 – Substance abuse support
(888) HLP-4-VET – Military and veteran support
(877) 968-8491 – Youth peer support
(877) 515-7848 – Spanish line (not staffed all hours)

Suicide Prevention Guide — Risk factors, what to do, and guides for difficult conversations with potentially suicidal friends or family. Prepared by bestcolleges.com but addresses multiple at-risk populations, including LGBTQ+, teens, veterans, elders, and others.

National Suicide Prevention Hotline – your call will be routed to the crisis center closest to you 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

TIP (Trauma Intervention Project) “Victim Resources” lots of written resources – how to support someone after a traumatic event, how o talk with and support children through grief, common reactions to trauma

MENTAL HEALTH

Amenda Clinic: a private queer-friendly mental health practice,
“Practitioners include naturopathic physicians, psychiatric nurse practitioners, nutritional therapists, counselors, and Chinese medicine practitioners, all of whom specialize in mental health and/or addiction care.” Accepts most insurance (503) 239-8181

Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare: Mental health case management, substance use treatment, long-term and transitional housing. Referral hotline (M-F, 9a-5p) (503) 674-7777

Hooper Detox Center: this 4-10 day detox center is operated by Central City Concern and fills quickly. Entails compulsory medical/nursing supervision, acupuncture, counseling and other elements of recovery care. Must arrive by 7:45 am M-F to be admitted; 503-238-2067

–Sobering Station/CHIERS: the “drunk tank”; people thought to be drug/alcohol-affected are brought in by EMT-staffed “CHIERS” van or police as a medically-supervised alternative to jail. Those brought in are held 3-48 hrs (or until ‘sober’), fed water, bread and/or soup, and offered referrals. 503-238-2067 x 119

Icarus Project – Portland: This local chapter is a peer support group for “people struggling with extreme emotional distress that often gets labeled as mental illness.” Meets Mondays @ 7pm, Q Center (4115 N Mississippi Ave, Portland)

Sexual Minority Provider Alliance (SMPA) Directory: “therapists, counselors, and educators located in Portland Oregon who are dedicated to providing services to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender clients.”

SUPPORT FOR SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT & INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE

Bradley Angle: Queer-friendly crisis resource for survivors of domestic violence and their children. Offers emergency housing, 24 hour crisis line, transitional housing and other resources. Crisis Hotline: 503.281-2442 // “LGBTQ advocate”: 503-595-9591 ex. 305

Call to Safety (formerly Portland Women’s Crisis Line): 24 hour crisis line, advocates, support groups and other resources to support survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Also conducts outreach/prevention projects and coordinates with area shelters. Crisis hotline: 503-235-5333

Sexual Assault Resource Center of Oregon offers 24 hour hotline for survivors, case management, and prevention workshops for middle and high school age children. Primarily serves Washington County. Crisis Hotline: 503-640-5311

Readings

Generation 5 – committed to ending childhood sexual abuse in five generations
through transformative justice

Philly Stands Up:  Philadelphia-based “group dedicated to dealing with (sexual) consent, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and community accountability through transformative justice.” Considered to be highly successful and long-lived. Website contains educational materials (zines and links) covering their structure, history, and framework.

Survivor Project: “exists to advocate for intersex and trans survivors of domestic and sexual violence.” Website contains research, articles, workshop offerings, information and referrals regarding Trans* and Intersex people targeted with domestic and sexual violence

READINGS

HEALTH INFORMATION & RESOURCES

Center for Disease Control: Government-run up-to-date tracking and information on broad range of infectious diseases and public health issues (including mental health, environmental illness, abuse, workplace injury, and non-communicable disease)

Hesperian Health Guides – publishes Where There is No Doctor, Where There is No Dentist, and Where Women have no Doctor and has great do-it-yourself health info downloadable for free

Simple Steps to Dental Health: Dental health information online from Columbia University College of Dental Medicine

WebMD Consumer-oriented website, sponsored by (and favorable to) drug companies, but contains useful symptom checker, reliable disease and public health information.

Pubmed: database of biomedical studies & literature; provider-oriented and technical language

MD 4Kids: Oregon Health & Science University maintains online and smartphone app symptom checker & dosage charts for children’s healthcare

QUEER & TRANS READING
FOR PROVIDERS AND OURSELVES

Center of Excellence for Transgender Health at UCSF; Guides for providers, organizers, trans individuals and their advocates

Trans Healthcare Resources: Work-in-progress site, with national resources for trans-identified healthcare ‘consumers’, providers offering healthcare to trans folks, research, advocacy, and a health study by the site designer.

Medical Therapy and Health Maintenance for Transgender Men: A Guide For Health Care Providers: a comprehensive guide you can share with doctors with little experience treating trans patients

Dean Spade’s essay “About Purportedly Gendered Body Parts” – a resource to share with healthcare providers regarding the ways body parts are labeled in relation to gender

RADICAL MENTAL HEALTH READING

Harm Reduction Guide to Coming off Psychiatric Drugs, by Will Hall. Published by The Icarus Project and Freedom Center. theicarusproject.net; freedomcenter.org

Mindful Occupation: Rising Up Without Burning Out: by Occupy Mental Health Project.

Friends Make the Best Medicine: A Guide to Creating Community Mental Health Support Networks, assembled by The Icarus Project.

Anatomy of an Epidemic and Mad in America, by Robert Whitaker.

“Navigating Crisis,” by The Icarus Project.

National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives 

Beyond Meds: Alternatives to Psychiatry

Crooked Beauty, film by Ken Paul Rosenthal

DISASTER READINESS:

American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/or/portland/preparedness Sign up for a CPR/First Aid class, free preparedness class, purchase preparedness supplies and kits, download “Together We Prepare Guide” or First Aid & Disaster Apps for Iphone/Android. Volunteer with local/national/ international mega-NGO model disaster response.

CDC – Emergency Preparedness: (http://emergency.cdc.gov/) Government-run website with analysis and guides containing information and concrete steps to prepar or respond to natural and human-caused disasters, including wildfires, extreme weather, earthquakes, bombings, chemical emergencies and more.

Neigborhood Emergency Team (NET): (http://www.portlandoregon.gov/pbem/31667) the Portland branch of the FEMA-run program for the training and coordination of community-level disaster-response (CERT). Provides biannual training in basic disaster assessment, fire safety, search and rescue, and more. National website is http://www.fema.gov/community-emergency-response-teams

HERBAL / COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE EDUCATION:

Portland, OR

Arctos School of Herbal and Botanical Studies: Hosts hikes, workshops, and both foundational and intermediate Herbalism/Botany programs. “Our approach brings together the fundamentals of herbalism, botany and ecology with meaningful interaction and practical experience. We strive to instill in our work a value system that practices stewardship to the land, relationship to the plants and good health to the community.”

School of Traditional Western Herbalism: “The School of Traditional Western Herbalism is an herbal education center in Portland Oregon offering a comprehensive 3-year herbal studies program for beginning, intermediate, and advanced students.” Maintains an herbal apothecary and teaching space at 2714 NE Alberta Ave, Portland

Elderberry School of Botanical Medicine:  offers seasonal and year-long Herbalist Training and Advanced Programs, covering anatomy and physiology, botany, ethical wild-crafting, medicine -making, clinical skills, energetics, and various traditions of herbalism.

National University of Natural Medicine: oldest accredited naturopathic medical college in North America. Offers graduate education and licensure in Naturopathy, Classical Chinese Medicine, Integrative Medicine and Nutrition—as well as various classes for the public and professionals.

Oregon College of Oriental Medicine: OCOM’s academic programs provide students with a solid foundation in acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, therapeutic massage, and qi cultivation, as well as a focus on collaboration between Chinese medicine and Western biomedicine. OCOM’s teaching clinics provide affordable care for general wellness and hands-on experience for students, as well as advanced specialty care for patients facing health challenges.

Eugene, OR

Columbines School of Botanical Studies: “offers a unique educational program ranging from entry level lectures in community herbalism to a three year program including botany, ecology, wildcrafting, plant pharmacy, physiology, pathophysiology, and clinical herbalism. Operating for nearly three decades, we specialize in field programs where the majority of the classes are outside with the plants for a truly ‘hands on’ experience.”

Elsewhere:

Herb Pharm Herbaculture Intern Program: Siskiyou Mountains, Southern Oregon

Trillium Center: Community Herbal Intensive, Apprenticeships, Disaster Preparedness, & more, Conneaut, Ohio