Neighbors, friends and past and present patients of the North by Northeast Community Health Center gathered on Friday, October 21 to celebrate the opening of the clinic’s newly renovated, larger home at 714 NE Alberta. The clinic was founded in 2005 by Dr. Jill Ginsburg and the late Pastor Mary Overstreet Smith, whose daughters spoke emotionally about their mother’s commitment to the neighborhood and to services focused on the local African American population.
Prosper Portland provided $366,000 in Community Livability Grant funds to make most of the necessary improvements to turn the building into a first-class health center. Supporters are more than three-quarters of the way toward a fundraising goal of $100,000 to finish the renovations for the Center, which is still the only clinic in Oregon focused on African American health.
