Huge allocations for housing, addiction, homelessness promise to help Oregon combat its crises. Will your town benefit?

Lawmakers allocated $4 million for five Oregon universities to boost their behavioral health workforce education programs, which educators say is critical to help the state meet the urgent need for more workers in the field. Portland State University, which will receive a third of that funding, will use the money to hire faculty, develop new courses, support community agency workers who will supervise students and provide tuition support, according to Dr. Junghee Lee, interim dean of Portland State’s School of Social Work (above).