Dear Friends, Supporters, and Colleagues, 

As you all know, 2007 has seen the rebirth of Portland's Council for Prostitution Alternatives. We have re-incorporated with the state of Oregon and received 501(c)(3) tax exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service. More importantly, we have been proud to continue the original CPA's passionate commitment to helping women who want to leave the sex industry find alternatives to lives in prostitution.

In the few months that CPA has operated its drop-in center, we have served seven clients, including five adult women, one adult man, and one young teen girl. Each has struggled with addiction, homelessness, poverty, post-traumatic stress disorder, disrupted education, and histories of abuse and sexual assault. During the initial meeting, CPA staff and volunteers asked each client the same question: 

"What do YOU want from CPA?" 

Having listened, CPA has taken the following actions in honor of our clients’ requests: 

1. Education: Persuaded Londer Learning Center to take a test-case CPA client (a woman who was forced to leave school after the 5th grade) for free GED classes and support for her first year of college. Scheduled time to take a client to PCC for her assessment and placement tests. 

2. Dental Care: Persuaded private dentists and denturists to provide free bridge work, dentures, and general dental care for CPA clients. 

3. Basic Needs: In collaboration with Downtown Chapel, provided our clients with hygiene items, reading glasses, clothing, and bedding as needed. 

4. Employability: Begun the expunction of clients' criminal records when legally appropriate. 

5. Career: Supported clients in exploring and implementing their career plans. For example, several of our clients have discussed with us their desire to write and publish regarding what they underwent during their time in prostitution. Others have requested our help in developing careers as public speakers. Others have discussed with us their desire to provide services and mentoring to other persons who desire to leave prostitution. One client has sought our advice on forming his own nonprofit to serve homeless youth in prostitution.

6. Parenting and Pregnancy: Provided referrals to parenting classes as requested. Made an intake appointment for a pregnant client with Multnomah County WIC so that she can receive no-cost nutrient-dense food items during pregnancy and child-rearing. 

7. Domestic Violence: Provided referrals to services for domestic violence. 

8. Legal: Advocated for a client to DHS/Children's Services regarding options subsequent to a voluntary custody agreement for her daughter. 

9. Mentoring. Provided individual long-term mentoring, with clients invited to check in by phone as often as they wish. One client requested that I "witness" her growth and recovery for a full two years, and it has been my honor to do so. 

10. Hospitality: Provided the following requested snacks at our drop-in center: dark chocolate-with-raspberry-filling, chamomile & other herbal teas, coffee, cream cheese, bananas, apples, doughnuts & other pastries. Baker & Spice of Hillsdale donates decadent and delicious leftover baked goods to CPA twice a week. Per clients' polite but firm requests, we have discontinued serving my home-made, vegan, raw sunflower seed dip, the high fiber whole-wheat crackers, and the toasted soy nuts. (Must admit my teen-age kids wouldn't eat such stuff either. As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it admire the view!) 

11. Celebration & Community: Served our clients a full Thanksgiving dinner at our drop-in center. Per the request of our two Southerners (Georgia & Louisiana, respectively), a volunteer and I made a side dish of collard-greens-with-smoked-pork-neckbone, in addition to dishes more familiar to me. (Our clients tactfully but candidly informed us "nice try but you're about 45 degrees off on the collards--needed another eight hours of simmering.") All in all it was a wonderful evening. Staff and volunteers are already taking orders for the first annual CPA Christmas Dinner (and I’m working on perfecting my technique with those collard greens!) 

In addition to the above, CPA is especially proud of two more things. 

The Story of Our Youngest Client. CPA has been working with a bipolar 15-year-old girl who during the last year had gone from being a state champion cross-country runner and honor student to being homeless, crack-addicted, runaway, and involved in prostitution. In collaboration with her mother, CPA created a rescue plan for her by advocating to a hospital emergency room and a secure residential adolescent girls’ facility to cooperate and coordinate in providing services to this girl. 

When this girl told us she was ready and willing for us to go into action with this plan, we transported her and her mother to St. Vincent's emergency room, where she received nutrition, hydration, detox services, psychiatric evaluation, pain medication, and aggressive antibiotic therapy for a urinary tract infection that had progressed to her kidneys. CPA staff advocated to the St. Vincent staff and explained the girl's situation, and we persuaded the girl to communicate fully with medical personnel on difficult issues. Per the plan we had worked out previously, St. Vincent's transferred her to Albertina Kerr's secure residential facility for teen-age girls, where she received further services and further opportunity for stabilization. 

CPA continues to be involved in this girl's case: we have advocated for her with Children of the Night in San Francisco, an organization dedicated to helping young people leave prostitution when they decide they want to do so. Children of the Night has agreed to provide plane fare and a bed for this girl as soon as she calls their toll-free number and tells them that she wants their help. CPA remains dedicated to helping this young woman reclaim the life of achievement and growth that is rightfully hers. 

All Our Clients. We are proud of our clients and proud of the mutual friendship, mutual learning, and the active collaboration we have experienced with them. A few days ago, a staff member and I were talking about how much we LIKE our clients. We agreed that we have never met a group of people who were more intelligent, resourceful, compassionate, generous, resilient, articulate, and witty than the women (and man!) we serve. Most of all, we respect and admire our client’s desire to help better the lives and lessen the sufferings of others in prostitution.

It has been our privilege, honor, and pleasure to serve these people.
Best regards, 

Lila Lee, J.D., LL.M., Executive Director