Outside In :: Serving homeless youth and low-income adults in Portland Oregon

Road to help is paved with intentions

The Oregonian Copyright 2007;
Written by S. Renee Mitchell;

Individually, the dozen strangers were fully capable of meeting just about any challenge. But together, harnessing their collective power of intention, they accessed potential that they didn't realize they had.

"To me," notes Kathy Oliver, executive director of Outside In, which serves homeless and low-income youths, "they showed what 12 focused people can do to change the world. In 24 hours."

That's the moral. Here's the story: At 5 p.m. on a Thursday, participants in the last year of a three-year leadership class were challenged to help homeless kids in downtown Portland. The goal was to make it significant enough to get the media's attention.

"We really do think that we can learn to work smarter together," says Jill Taylor, who started The Taylor Group's leadership-training program with her mother, Carolyn, 20 years ago. "So how do I get myself out of the way if I start to let my own ego get wrapped up in it, which sometimes we as leaders can do."

The deadline: 10 a.m. Saturday.

The participants -- Betsy, Gary, Jack, Karen, Kerry, Larry, Marsia,Mary Beth, Patty, Tara, Tony and Virginia -- included two strategic coaches. A doctor from Michigan. A business consultant from Seattle. A veterinarian. A stay-at-home mom. And a few government workers.

They had each forked over $12,000 to meet four times a year to learn how to do what they did better. None, though, knew much about the lives of homeless kids.

But someone had a friend who worked at Outside In's clinic, which last year had 2,200 visits from young people younger than 24. Before too long, the needs were clearly identified: clean socks and health care.

When a teenager is homeless, Oliver says, a cold can easily become pneumonia. A rape could result in an HIV-positive diagnosis.

"Living on the streets, youth not only have all the issues they normally have at that age," Oliver says, "but they have a lot of upper respiratory problems, foot problems and skin problems."

At 8 a.m. Friday, the leadership group reconvened. How much does a doctor cost for one year? Someone tossed out a figure: $70,000.

"Then we said: 'OK, let's begin,' " says Karen Carnahan, president of a leadership consulting company in Portland. "We had to get past all of our inhibitions and our moxie-ness and how good we are and how not so good we are. We just said, 'We had to work together.' "

Using computers and cell phones, each contacted folks they thought might have some spare cash. Most of the donations were promised in lumps of $500 and $1,000. A few got businesses to match the amounts.

Occasionally, when someone started bragging or got discouraged, the members would stop and reflect: OK, why are we doing this? What is our intention?

By 8 a.m. Saturday, the donation drive had been featured on several television newscasts. At the end of the day, the group had a promise of nearly $101,000; lots of new socks; and a lead on a foundation grant.

"It wasn't just a pipe dream thing," Carnahan says.

Here are some insights the group members said they've learned: "I am deeply connected to my community." "I am a voice and a source for your gift." "I am here for something bigger than myself."

Tonight, employees and board members of Outside In plan to thank each of the class participants with a small party and a plaque.

"This is 12 people who didn't have $100,000," Oliver says. "They went out and found it, and they kept working at it until they got it."

That's the power of intention. Despite any challenge or circumstance, once you make up your mind to do good, anything can happen.