Portland Confidential: Part One of Several

Portland Confidential: Part One of Several

Hello, there.

I would like to explain what is confidential about this series. First and foremost, it is my name. I have an unusual first and last name combination, and I have had stalkers. For the purposes of this blog, I go by “Rose C.” That’s short for Rose City.

Here is my avatar:

Rose C.

If you don’t like it, I’m sorry. It was a public domain vector illustration that I adapted. People have many good and legitimate reasons for wishing to protect their privacy. To give just one example, this blog post gives advice to parents about how their children can avoid rape. It is based on personal experience.

The second reason I am using a pseudonym is that I may occasionally piss people off or cause strong reactions. I know we had over 600 unique visits on this site in the last week. Some of those may be ‘bots. Regardless, it appears that even though we do not advertise and rarely post on social media, real people do from time to visit our site. As a writer and creator, this makes me happy, I’d like to encourage it!

But you can’t be an honest journalist and never report anything negative.

For instance, right now I am typing this blog entry at Old Town Pizza in downtown Portland. So far, the experience has been only positive: good beer, a good slice, a comfortable corner booth to write at. It’s really nice, honestly, to find a space that’s not a strip club or a cabaret and still has affordable food and beverage in this neighborhood on a Sunday evening. Portland’s downtown isn’t what it used to be. It needs all our help to come back and thrive once more.

But perhaps something will go horribly wrong at this restaurant before I sign for the check! I cannot imagine what that might be, but I reserve the right to write a critical restaurant review if circumstances demand. That is another reason I choose to remain Rose C.

Something else you should know about PDX Local, if you have not visited before:

We have a number of different writers, and we welcome volunteers. We are not advertiser-supported. We accept donations, but to be honest there are a lot of other local organizations that can probably benefit more from your hard-earned cash. I will try to profile some of these in the weeks and months to come. Suggestions welcome.

We are free and independent media. We are here by choice.

Yours truly (that is to say Rose C.) has a contract job at a large and well-known corporation, but I would not call myself rich. Not by a long shot. I have a lot of credit card debt to pay off. Some of that is medical debt. Some comes from taking my ex-partner and his child along with me to South Korea on a business trip. Some comes from travel back to the East Coast to see friends and family. A lot comes from simply using credit to pay for all of life’s daily necessities (including groceries, utilities, and transportation) for approximately ten years, while I was toiling away as a startup founder, with enough money to pay my employees (including the aforementioned ex-partner) but not myself.

Do you hear the world’s tiniest violin playing here?

I don’t.

It’s been the ride of a lifetime, and it’s not over yet.

If my job vanished tomorrow (and I hope it doesn’t) I would go back to doing deliveries—driving for DoorDash and UberEats.

Restaurants are so important to our local economy. If they go away, I don’t know what Portland will become.

Crisis Resources

Crisis Resources

We’ve put together a list of helpful national and local Portland, OR and Seattle, WA resources for mental health and suicide prevention, updated for COVID-19. Please let us know if any of these links are broken, or if you have new ones to suggest. Thank you, and be well.

Helplines

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 (formerly 1-800-273-8255) provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. Telephone and online chat available.

https://calltosafety.org A Call to Safety advocate can connect you with resources through the crisis line, or you can explore some Portland Metro resources below. Learn more about domestic and sexual violence, stalking, and sex work on our site.

https://oregonyouthline.org For teens, they can call, text, chat and during certain hours can talk to peer support.

https://www.crisistextline.org Crisis Text Line, text HOME to 741741.

http://communitycounselingsolutions.org/warmline  A peer-run program of Community Counseling Solutions.

https://www.translifeline.org – Peer support, hotline, and resources for the trans community.

https://www.thetrevorproject.org – A national 24-hour, toll free confidential suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth.

503-575-3764Crisis Line for Racial Equity Support – Answered by BIPOC counselors M-F from 8:30 AM -5:00 PM.

877-226-3111 – Addiction Hotline

1-855-227-3640 – Caregiver Help Desk Hotline

503-300-1633 – Clackamas Senior Loneliness Line

844-228-2962 – Eating Disorder Hotline

877-455-0628 – Self Harm Hotline

888-640-5174 – Depression Hotline

Clackamas County Mental Health Crisis Line (503) 655-8585


Multnomah County Mental Health Crisis Line (503) 988-4888


Washington County Mental Health Crisis Line (503) 291-9111


Thero Directory

Seattle Mental Health Crisis Line (866) 427-4747

Suicide Prevention Cards - PDX Local

Community Resources

https://www.nami.org NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. Oregon NAMI Chapter: https://namior.org/

http://gettrainedtohelp.com – Suicide First Aid. Free trainings in suicide prevention for the general public, youth workers, and more. Includes the ASIST curriculum. Trainings temporarily suspended.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/stjohnssuicideprevention – St. John’s Suicide Prevention Team. A community group helping reduce the incidence of suicides in Portland, Oregon and the St. John’s neighborhood.

https://multco.us/mhas/mental-health-crisis-intervention – Multnomah Crisis Intervention Resources (includes walk-in clinic).

https://www.co.washington.or.us/hawthorn – Walk-in trauma intervention program in Washington County.

http://www.seattlecrisis.org/counseling.html – Counseling and mental health resources for Seattle, WA.

https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org – Nationwide organization providing training to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a crisis.

https://mesotheliomahub.com/mesothelioma/patient-resources/suicide  – Suicide Prevention & Cancer Patients

Substance Abuse

https://www.samhsa.gov/ebp-resource-center/ – Federally funded Evidence Based Practices Resource Center for mental and substance abuse disorders.

https://www.drugrehab.com/guides/suicide-risks/ – A guide to understanding the connection between Substance Abuse & Suicide.

https://www.detoxrehabs.net/ – This site helps you find centers in your home state or out of state. We also provide information for different community needs, such as help for our veterans, LGBTQ+ friendly programs, free or Medicaid accepting treatment, and pet-friendly facilities.

www.AlcoholRehabGuide.org – This guide doesn’t promote any specific clinic or service, but it does provide valuable information to help people understand the effects of alcoholism and the variety of ways to find help.

www.alcoholhelp.com – Browse resources and get connected to treatment that is right for you.

Suicide Prevention Cards - PDX Local

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