Background
Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is looking for youth leaders to help invest $1 million in helping youth and schools recover from COVID-19. Oregon youth and their schools are taking on a lot – among other impacts, the pandemic has:
- Disrupted youth’s lives in their communities, schools, and activities - causing a lot of stress, trauma and pain
- Created the need for remote learning and changes to in-person learning – bringing new challenges and leaving some youth with unmet needs
- Decreased in-person social interaction
- Impacted mental health
- Created financial burden
In order to support these needs, OHA is accepting applications from youth and youth serving community-based organizations to serve on and/or support a statewide youth advisory council. This council will make decisions on how to invest $1 million to increase capacity in schools and communities to better serve youth and schools as they recover from the pandemic.
OHA’s Commitment to Health Equity
OHA is committed to seeking participation on this council from youth from communities most impacted by COVID-19 and health inequities, including youth of color, youth from tribal communities, youth with disabilities, youth experiencing housing instability, youth from immigrant communities, and youth who are LGTBQIA2S+. OHA will provide the youth advisory council with the overarching goal to advance health equity through their work. OHA defines health equity as:
“Oregon will have established a health system that creates health equity when all people can reach their full health potential and well-being and are not disadvantaged by their race, ethnicity, language, disability, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, social class, intersections among these communities or identities, or other socially determined circumstances.
Achieving health equity requires the ongoing collaboration of all regions and sectors of the state, including tribal governments to address:
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The equitable distribution or redistribution of resources and power; and
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Recognizing, reconciling and rectifying historical and contemporary injustices.”
Youth are encouraged to apply
here by March 31.
Community-based organizations (CBOs) are encouraged to propose how they can support the council
here by March 31.