The Mercury Online Charity Auction Benefits Outside In

After learning of the tremendous number of services Outside
In provides to Portland’s marginalized communities, “safety net” seems
like the most apt way to describe the local nonprofit. For the last 40
years, using an interwoven network of health care and social services,
the agency has made it their mission to catch those who have fallen
into the darkness of violence, poverty, and homelessness.

With programs dotted across several blocks of downtown Portland,
Outside In is nationally regarded as a model for nonprofit community
social service. Every day the agency’s volunteers face crises and
adversity, and every day someone who would have been on the street
takes a step toward improved health, employment, and independent
living. Those steps might be taken in the quiet of the acupuncture
clinic, or the bright refuge of the well-appointed day room. They might
be taken in the on-site alternative high school, or during a needle
exchange. At all points, Outside In is there to help people off the
streets and into a better life.

Through a robust medical outreach program—partnering with
Oregon Health & Science University, National College of
Naturopathic Medicine, and the Oregon College of Oriental
Medicine—Outside In provides health care services for anyone who
is uninsured or under-employed. A two-room mobile medical unit reaches
people unable to travel to their Southwest Portland health clinic. A
long-standing needle-exchange program reduces the spread of HIV in the
community while simultaneously diverting people into drug treatment. A
tattoo removal program helps individuals erase traces of a gang
membership or domestic abuse, while increasing their ability to find
employment.

Along with these programs aimed at increasing wellness, Outside In
provides services to homeless youth primarily between the ages 16 and
21. Not only do they offer a safe environment off the streets, food,
animal care, and crisis counseling, but also education, job training,
and transitional housing. The idea being that once these kids get help,
they’re given a ladder to climb back into the light.

“We provide the safety net for people,” says Outside In Executive
Director Kathy Oliver. “And at the same time, services that help people
change their lives.”

Beyond what they’ve done to help those pushed to the edges of
society, it’s amazing to think what the agency has done to increase
livability in Portland. Just this year, Outside In helped 87 homeless
youth find employment in the community. Fifteen clients obtained a GED,
and 30 enrolled in college or a post-secondary training program.
Eighty-eight percent of clients in transitional housing with Outside In
found stable living situations, either independently or with family and
friends. All this means fewer homeless youth on the streets of the
city, and fewer headed for incarceration or death. If you were to erase
Outside In’s 40 years of community service, Portland wouldn’t look the
same.

One thing that has allowed Outside In to make such a significant
impact in the community is the fact that while the agency has grown, it
has remained quick to respond to needs of the community it serves.

“People ask me what the agency’s going to be doing in five years,”
says Oliver. “I don’t know. The world changes too fast. When we started
syringe exchange, we had no idea we’d be doing it. HIV changed the
world and we responded.”

Oliver points out that it’s important the agency remains flexible
and responsive. She points to the tattoo removal program as proof.
“Five years ago, tattoo removal wasn’t such a big issue. Now it
is.”

This nimbleness allowed Outside In to respond when they saw the need
for increased focus on lesbian, gay, and bisexual issues. Later that
focus shifted even further when they noticed more transgender
individuals accessing their services.

Currently, the biggest issue Outside In faces is ensuring that they
can offer job training and education, as the economic downtown
continues to leave more and more behind.

“Employment and education go hand in hand,” says Outside In
Communication Director Kelly Anderson. “Especially in this economy,
getting a job is difficult for many people. Homeless youth are just hit
harder when times are tough.”

Still, whether serving homeless youth or providing medical care to
the poor, the safety net of Outside In is there to catch just about
anyone. And it’s important to remember that “anyone” could someday
include you.

“People think that poverty is something that happens to other people
and not themselves,” says Oliver. “Until it does.”

Please bid generously to help Outside In continue the good fight. Outside In is located at 1132 SW 13th. For more information, call
503-535-3800 or hit outsidein.org.