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HB 2949 Looks to Create Opportunities for BIPOC Mental Health Care Workers

News Article
Illustration of two people sitting across from each other. One gestures with their hand as they speak and the other takes notes.
The recent passing of HB 2949 mandates a establishment of a program to improve BIPOC mental health workforce, including pipeline development, scholarships for undergraduates and stipends for graduate students, loan repayments, and retention activities.
Published

Paying for higher education is one of the most extreme hardships that Generation Z faces. 69 percent of college students in the class of 2019 had to take out student loans, and per the latest statistics, there is a total of $1.71 trillion in student loan debt in the United States. Many students are not able to obtain the education they want because they cannot afford it, a dilemma further increased for Black, Indigenous, and youth of color youth, who already face generational wealth gaps and systemic racism going into higher education. Black college graduates owe an average of $25,000 more in student loan debt than white college graduates. In the 2015-2016 school year, Indigenous students received the lowest average loan amount of any racial group.
 
But here is some good news: Oregon Legislature just passed HB 2949, a bill mandating the “establish[ment of a] program to improve BIPOC mental health workforce, including pipeline development, scholarships for undergraduates and stipends for graduate students, loan repayments, and retention activities.” The bill also includes a directive for the Oregon Health Authority to “provide funding to counties, community mental health programs, and organizations to support individuals to transition from incarceration back into [the] community” and create a task force to look into “loosening restrictions on formerly incarcerated individuals obtaining licenses to provide mental health care.”
 
This legislation helps enable students to accomplish their career goals by centering mental health and wellness, specifically by increasing the number of culturally responsive and linguistically accessible mental health professionals. Currently, BIPOC only make up about 10% of mental health workers in Oregon. Having monetary and culturally responsive assistance helps students in achieving and maintaining their aspirations that might otherwise be out of reach. Furthermore, it means that students can receive culturally competent mental health care-- care from people who understand their lived experience.
 
Bills like HB 2949 are one way we can invest in education, jobs, and mental health services for Black and indigenous communities, which are all essential to their ability to thrive. Click here for a simplified version of the bill from APANO.
 
For culturally responsive and linguistically accessible resources in Portland, click here .

Written by Camilia Saulino. Camilia is an summer intern at Civic Life, she grew up in Portland, and is currently studying at  sociology at University of California San Diego.

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