Mental Health Services

Due to decisions on the part of state leadership over the past two decades, Oregon has progressively slid to the bottom of the barrel for mental health services. For adult services our state currently comes in at 49th in the nation. While this can be addressed in part through the expansion of local services, our county needs someone with experience and the ability to partner with other counties to make our collective voice heard in Salem. This is something I can do for Coos County.

As of July I began advocating for action on City County Insurance (CIS) Board and at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Advisory Committee. I am the only rep ever from the south coast to CIS and the only city rep to DHHS. In that capacity I was able to raise the alarm around state created danger claims and the state's effort to send even alleged murderers back to our communities after one year in holding. As of September 2023, Marion county put forward their lawsuit against the OHA in line with the points I was bringing forward.