May 10, 2017 – On Saturday May 20, 2017, North by Northeast Community Health Center will host a benefit to mark their 10th anniversary and celebrate their health center’s new home in the Alberta Arts District. The event, sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, will be attended by over 350 guests and take place at the Melody Ballroom at 615 SE Alder St. in Portland. Drinks and live jazz begin at 5:30PM followed by the community supper and program at 6:45PM. The event will include a live performance by New Orleans-jazz saxophone maestro Devin Phillips and his international touring band New Orleans Straight Ahead.
This celebratory event features co-emcees S. Renee Mitchell and Ken Boddie, family-style dining, dancing and a live auction including many experiences put together specifically to reflect 10 years of connection with the African American community served by the health center. Some of the live auction items include a Liberian dinner for 10, an African-patterned, handmade quilt sewn from 10 years of North by Northeast patient gowns and a Black History tour of Portland.
North by Northeast Community Health Center is excited to celebrate its new location, which allows the center to serve more patients. North by Northeast is the only medical clinic in Oregon devoted to African American health and exists to improve health outcomes and advance health equity by offering culturally responsive primary care services focused on chronic health conditions affecting the local African American population.
The Center was founded in 2006 when Pastor Mary Overstreet Smith and Dr. Jill Ginsberg came together to provide health care to survivors relocated to Portland following hurricane Katrina. Their shared vision continues to flourish.
