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OSU Extension urges state backing for community ‘conversations’ to improve rural behavioral health
Summary
Supporters of Senate Bill 920 told the committee that OSU Extension’s community-conversations model has helped rural counties plan behavioral health responses, attract millions in follow-on funding and create locally owned action plans; witnesses asked lawmakers to fund continued facilitation and training.
Senate Bill 920 would direct the Oregon State University Extension Service to administer a behavioral health promotion project, convening local communities across the behavioral health sector to hold structured "community conversations" about mental health and substance use.
Daniel Bonham, senator for District 26, described the work OSU Extension began in 2019 using federal SAMHSA and USDA grants to help rural communities prevent suicide and overdose. Allison Myers, associate dean for Extension and Engagement at OSU, said the program is educational and not clinical: "We…
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