Portland Acupuncturist Press

I'm really excited that my first blog entry is about the nationally recognized Portland nonprofit Outside In. Outside In is a social service agency that provides services to low income adults and homeless youth. I am featuring them on my blog because one aspect of their programming is a busy and successful acupuncture clinic which provides a full range of traditional Chinese medicine services to people in need.

Outside In is located at 1132 SW 13th Ave. in Portland, Oregon. The building itself is very open and is modern in style. The facade is decorated with outstanding colorful murals. The courtyard entryway was very clean, quiet and relaxing. There was even a spot out of the weather to safely house pets. Once I entered the building, the energy changed significantly and felt akin to that of a busy school building. There were young people all around, socializing and waiting in the lobby. Social workers, heath care professionals and volunteers were hustling around behind desks and going through doors. I sensed a feeling hope and youthfulness which I did not expect.

The top floor of Outside In has transitional housing for homeless youth and offers programs to support these youth in work, health and education in an effort to point them toward independent living or a stable home life. I was impressed to learn that 80% of the youth that go through the program do not go back to the streets.

The lower floors of the building contain the outpatient multidisciplinary medical clinic. Clients of the clinic can see medical doctors, naturopaths, acupuncturists/ herbalists, nurse practitioners, chiropractors, dental hygienists, or psychiatrists. They also offer tattoo removal. Some of the health care workers in the clinic are students themselves since Outside In is a teaching site for Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), the National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM) and the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM).

Eligibility for appointments and costs (if any) borne by the clients are determined by age, housing situation and income level. Persons who do not qualify for services at the Outside In clinic are referred to other local organizations for assistance. The clinic seemed very busy during my tour and I later learned that Outside In provided over 15,000 appointments for needy youth and low income adults in our community last year.

The reason I arranged to visit Outside In was to observe the acupuncture clinic, of course. The clinic is supervised by acupuncturist and author, David Frierman, whom I had recently met at a birthday party for a mutual friend. David impressed me as an intelligent, relaxed, and soft-spoken person. When I arrived, he was having an impromptu discussion about education with five OCOM interns. They were gathered in a room surrounded by glass jars of raw Chinese herbs. Many of the herbs had been donated by local practitioners and by David himself. The herbs are provided free of charge to patients of the clinic. I enjoyed the familiar smell of the herbs as David steered the discussion toward the job at hand. The interns came and went, in turn, as they consulted David regarding the needs of their patients in the adjoining clinic. These OCOM students have elected to intern at Outside In and I could tell by the way they interacted with David that they were very satisfied and engaged by the experience.

The acupuncture treatments were administered in a semiprivate “group” acupuncture setting with curtains drawn between treatment tables. I was reminded of my own clinical internship at the free clinic offered through Midwest College of Oriental Medicine in Chicago.

David reported that homeless teenagers usually do not sign up for Chinese medicine treatments at the clinic. He said that many of them have grown up in abusive homes and therefore have boundary or trust issues that cause them some fear of acupuncture. He thinks this is the reason that most of the clients of the TCM clinic are low-income, uninsured 20-30 year old adults.

I left the clinic with a deep admiration for the energy and commitment of the workers and volunteers. The sheer scope of the Outside In was impressive and was far beyond my estimation of what a social service agency could accomplish under one roof. I witnessed first hand why they are nationally ranked as an innovative nonprofit medical center.

I believe that persons interested in helping at Outside In will find a positive, well-run organization and will come away with a feeling of time well spent.