Document text
Abdill-Ellis center future cloudy By JONEL ALECCIA ASHLAND - Six years after the murder of two lesbian women galvanized the local homosexual community, the center created in their name is facing a crossroad. In the last few weeks, the latest director of the Abdill-Ellis Lambda Community Center left under uncertain circumstances, the board of directors decided to sublease the site at 281 Fourth St. and the Jackson County Health Department declined to continue about $10,000 in annual funding for outreach services until problems are resolved. "We basically decided given the problems they've had, we'd stop the funding," said Hank Collins, county health director. At issue is the future direction of the center created in 1996 after the 1995 murders of Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill, a Medford lesbian couple. From grass-roots beginnings, the center evolved to include 19 programs ranging from lesbian support groups to HIV education classes and a hot line that fields some 3,700 telephone calls each month, organizers have said. In recent years, however, the agency has had trouble sustaining energy for programs and funding for its $90,000 annual budget. Pat Smith, co-chair of the center's 10-member board, said a series of public forums will determine what happens next. Lannie Thompson-Kali, the center's most recent director, has left the agency, although Smith declined to say whether she was fired or resigned. "She's no longer the director," Smith said. In addition, the center has lost some county funding. A three-year, $25,000 capacity-building grant was finished, Collins said. County directors decided not to grant some $8,000 for outreach to gay and bisexual men and some $2,000 to $3,000 for outreach to homosexual youth. "We still have the funding, we're just not sure where we'll allocate it," Collins said. Faced with a steep lease and dwindling funds, Smith said the agency hopes to find a tenant to fill the Fourth Street site. The center would not close, she said, but it would no longer provide a central place for activities. "Perhaps we don't need a place that's large enough for a dance," Smith said. "But we will continue." The changes are part of a natural evolution of any small, grass-roots nonprofit, said Carole Souza, who was a member of the agency's founding board. "I think what the center is really doing is looking at what the community needs," she said. "Maybe there will be some new energy that rises up." In some ways, the center already has achieved some of its goals, Smith said. She said greater awareness means it's easier now than in 1996 to be homosexual in Southern Oregon. Many gay, lesbian and transgender people are no longer united around the single issue of acceptance. Some have turned to gay choirs, political organizations or other advocacy agencies. "We're multi-dimensional people, and people are putting their energies elsewhere," she said. A newsletter will be sent next month to some 1,100 gay, lesbian and transgender households detailing times and dates of community forums, she said. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.