Community information
Coming Soon: Mentor Brokerage Transition
A transition is coming to Brokerage services in the Portland and Mid-Valley areas. The Mentor Network will no longer provide services in Oregon after August 31st, 2021. Unexpected change can be unsettling, but there is a plan underway to maintain support without interruption to people currently using Mentor Brokerage services. We are pleased and fortunate to have established Brokerage organizations that are willing to come together to ensure that these services continue and that people get what they need. We know you have questions, and we have collected answers to some of the most pressing below. A little background: The Oregon Support Services Association is made up...
Read More2021 Legislative Session Halfway Point: Advocacy Tools to Raise Your Voice
Here at the mid-point of the 2021 Oregon Legislative Session, we take the chance to reflect on this unusual year of virtual hearings and Zoom meetings, and the progress we have made thus far. Many of the nearly 2,500 bills introduced this session have died, meaning that they will not move forward this session to become law. The work of creating and approving the state budget for the next two years, a major item on the session to-do list, is moving into high gear. There is still a lot of advocacy left to do to share your perspective and priorities with legislators as they make decisions about how to spend money over the coming biennium. Let’s talk about what is...
Read MoreNew Tools and Guidance On Remote Legislative Engagement from OLIS
January 11th, 2021 marks the first official day of the 2021 Oregon Legislative Session. Though bills are being released for review and other familiar processes are moving forward, this is not business-as-usual. The 2021 Session will take place in a mostly virtual fashion–there will be little human presence in the state capitol building, and legislative activities from committee hearings to lobbying will take place remotely. The Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS) has long been an excellent resource to find out what’s going on in Oregon’s legislative process. For example, you can view a calendar of events on the pgage, and access each...
Read MoreWhat You Need To Know Now That People 16+ with IDD, Their Families, and Support Workers Are Eligible For the COVID Vaccine
People with Developmental Disabilities, their families, and all direct support workers (PSWs, DSPs, and unpaid supports) are now eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine! COVID vaccines have been tested and proven effective and are arriving now in Oregon. We all have questions about how vaccines will get to all the people who need them. We gathered some information to share about the unfolding COVID-19 vaccination process. Our goal is to provide people with the most accurate information so that they can be healthy, safe and informed about the process. The COVID-19 Vaccines are here and Oregon gets more doses each day. Oregon has a plan that says who can get the COVID-19...
Read MoreAn Introduction to the COVID-19 Vaccine
COVID-19 rages on in Oregon and across the nation. We are all tired of being careful, having to think and rethink every basic routine. Adapting to new realities and understanding of how we stand to contract and spread this disease. Please, give yourself a pat on the back for how compliant and diligent you have been. But keep in mind that our risk of overrunning our hospitals, killing our front-line medical workers, and harming the people we love is as high as it has ever been. The same protective measures we are all so familiar with are still our best–do not gather indoors with people outside your household, wear a mask when you leave the house, and wash your...
Read MoreTesting, Vaccines, and Risk Levels: The Latest on COVID-19 In Oregon
Winter is fast approaching, and we find ourselves in the middle of a very nasty spike in COVID-19 infection, statewide. This poses a deadly risk to every Oregonian–but not all risk is equal. Since the beginning of the pandemic, our state leadership and public health officials have been working to adapt our guidance to incorporate new information and understanding of how this disease spreads. With this spike, the Governor and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) have created new guidance that takes into consideration the risk levels present in each county in the state, and what they mean for the people living there. We’ll walk through some of the major headlines...
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