What's New At The Capitol
March 15: The Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health and Human Services heard public testimony on the Addictions and Mental Health budget. Partnership for Safety and Justice was among those present, represented by Action Team members and several staff members. This hearing was also the first major opportunity for PSJ’s HEAL Oregon campaign to make its presence known to legislators.
More than 50 people signed up to testify on the wide variety of areas covered by the Addictions and Mental Health budget, from addictions treatment to community-based mental health services. Among those was Portland Action Team member Chandler Kerns, who testified for his first time in front of a legislative committee. A recent graduate from PSJ’s Speakers Bureau training, Chandler called attention to the need for funding to be maintained for treatment, prevention and recovery services. He was joined by PSJ’s Executive Director, David Rogers, and Patty Katz, the director of PSJ’s Beyond Barriers program. Each of them also highlighted the need for these services, how they would create safer and healthier communities and how they would also save Oregon money in both the short and long term.
HEAL Oregon’s recent accomplishment aided PSJ’s efforts that night. In the days leading up to the March 15th hearing, the more than 1300 postcards that HEAL Oregon collected last year were sent by mail to the three co-chairs of the subcommittee. During his testimony, David Rogers referred to these postcards to emphasis the very real public support that exists throughout Oregon for maintaining these services. Members of the committee and the audience were all visibly impressed by the sheer number of people represented by the postcards.
Also present for the testimony were Eugene Action Team members Trish Coldeen and Dwight Sanderson and Portland Action Team member Jamie Thanos who were all there to show their support for these services. Seeing the hard work and dedication of PSJ’s members pay off made it truly a special and inspiring night for all.
PSJ’s HEAL Oregon campaign will continue to track the status of funding for addiction treatment, prevention and recovery services and keep our members updated on the best times to take action.
March 8: PSJ member Dorothy Holbrook testified in a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee today. Dorothy, a member of PSJ’s Eugene Action Team, joined several others who provided testimony in support of SB 524, a bill to fix problems created by the 2009 HB 2442. Program director Caylor Roling was also there on behalf of PSJ and provided written testimony supporting SB 524.
During her testimony, Dorothy shared her story with the committee of how she battled with addiction and was incarcerated. While in prison, she was able to successfully complete a treatment program which helped her to turn her life around. After she was released, Dorothy got her college degree and set out to work in the addiction and mental health field, intent on using her life experiences to help others. “I went from being part of the problem to being the solution,” she said.
But last year, Dorothy lost her job at a residential mental health facility where she had been working since 2007 because of HB 2442. The bill has unintentionally caused many qualified people like Dorothy to lose their jobs in the mental health and addictions field due to a past conviction. For some, these convictions were from ten to twenty years ago. SB 524 would allow people with past convictions to work in addictions and mental health once more and reinstate a system within Addictions and Mental Health, the weigh test, which was already working well to protect Oregonians and permit qualified people to work in the fields of addictions and mental health.
