About our policy process
Every year SO Health-E looks for opportunities to advocate for policies that support what our community has told us they want to see. This year, we have endorsed bills in the 2023 Oregon Legislative Session that align with top priorities for Southern Oregonians. How do we know what is important to our community? In 2022, SO Health-E conducted a Community Priorities Survey across Jackson and Josephine Counties. Outreach focused on the Latino/a/x communities in Southern Oregon, Spanish-speaking populations, families with children, LGBTQIA+ people, low-income people, and wildfire survivors. Here are the top priorities out of 682 responses:
Top Priorities from the 2022 SO Health-E Community Needs Survey
Basic needs such as affordable and accessible housing, food security, and changes to the criminal justice system of policing, the courts, and how Oregon jails and prisons were run were the top responses. Within these categories, people talked about the impacts of systemic racism and economic inequality, and the needs of people who speak languages other than English. All of these connected issues are health equity issues because they directly impact people's health, even though they aren't traditional "health" issues. Our work is to improve health equity by doing policy work to change these systems so that more people in our community can have their basic needs met, enjoy better physical health and a sense of belonging.
Policy Wins for Our Community
Missed Opportunities to Advance Equity in 2023
Next Steps
To receive updates, consider following SO Health-E on Instagram or Facebook, and subscribing to our monthly email newsletter.