In November, while President-elect Barack Obama gave his acceptance speech amidst adoring fans and a confetti-filled stage, 13-year Lane County Commissioner Bobby Green waited for his own race to be decided.
After all the votes were counted, Green accepted his defeat to a newly elected Rob Handy. This week is his first in a new position, which will present a new set of challenges for the former commissioner.
The loss of a $78,400 salary and a prominent Lane County public office position left Green anxious about where his career would go next. It was not long until a past colleague approached him with a paid position as a health liaison for the Association of the Oregon Community Mental Health Program.
Green agreed to take the position with the intent of reinventing the way the state addresses mental health care.
“I see a lot of need for change, and when I work on something, I get things done,” he said.
Green’s plans include a possible raise in the consumer beer tax, which has been stagnate for 32 years, as a way to fund local alcohol and drug treatment programs.
He also seeks to increase the accessibility of mental health care to released criminals, in an effort to reduce recidivism, or instances when criminals commit additional crimes following their release from prison.
His acceptance of the position comes in the wake of Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s proposed service cuts for community health programs, including an 82.8 percent decrease in drug and alcohol treatment programs for underprivileged Oregonians.
Eugene drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers such as Chrysalis Drug Treatment are in disbelief about the prospect of losing more money and having to turn more citizens away from treatment.
“We already have a three-month waiting list, it is bad, and it could get much worse,” said Larry Weinerman, director of Chrysalis Drug Treatment.
Weinerman said 60 to 90 percent of crimes committed in Lane County occur because a criminal has some sort of mental illness, and most re-occurrences of crimes occur because individuals are unable to recover from the trauma of prison.
“The things that happen (in jail) are difficult for victims with mental illness to recover from,” Weinerman said. “If they don’t already have a substance problem, they are likely to turn to one after they are released.”
Mary Daniels, marketing director of the alcohol and drug abuse treatment center Serenity Lane in Eugene, attributes many people’s inability to pay for treatment to the specific guidelines of the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s Medicaid program.
“It is difficult to fit the criteria; the plan should be expanded to increase accessibility,” she said.
The governor’s plans for cutting health care do not include a slash in the budget for the Oregon Health Plan.
Despite many other cuts, the governor’s proposed budget includes a $5 million increase to extend the Oregon Health Plan to children and underprivileged adults. The extension of the plan will provide free drug and alcohol counselling for low-income individuals.
The public health field is not a new one for Green; he once headed the governor’s Juvenile Crime Prevention Advisory Committee.
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