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To contact me, please click here: Rep.EmersonLevy@oregonlegislature.gov
Hi Neighbor,
I hope your summer is going well and that you have been able to get outside and enjoy our beautiful state.
It’s been a tough summer for our community and I am so thankful for our firefighters and first responders who are keeping us safe. I have been in meetings with firefighters, first responders, and insurance agents, working collaboratively to address fire readiness and keeping our community insured.
Measure 110 Reforms start soon, and Deschutes County is busy preparing. Right now, we do not have any dedicated hospital beds for youth experiencing mental health crises on this side of the mountain, which means our kiddos (with an average age of 13) are in the Emergency Department for weeks. I toured the Emergency Department with other community and state leaders to discuss the youth mental health crisis we are facing, and we are working hard to address this in the legislature.
Our students head back to school in just a couple of weeks. Bend-La Pine and Redmond Schools will now provide free breakfast and lunch to all students. Read more below about what we passed in the Oregon legislature around education and upcoming policies around cell phones in schools.
On a personal note, we welcomed a new family member, Violet Eliza Levy!
Read our updates below to learn more about what I am working on in the Interim. You will also find important community resources, like wildfire recovery information and back-to-school assistance. As always, please reach out if I can be of any assistance to you and your family.
Best,
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 Representative Emerson Levy
House District 53
$5 Million Dollars Awarded to Bend for Housing Production
The White House and the U.S. Department of Housing and Development announced that Bend, Oregon is a recipient winner of the PRO Housing Grant Program, providing first-of-its-kind funding to identify and remove barriers to housing production and preservation.
Deschutes County Stabilization Center
The Deschutes County Stabilization Center is a collaborative project between the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office and Deschutes County Health Services and offers the community a 24/7 crisis stabilization center. I had the opportunity to tour the stabilization center with Behavioral Health Director Holly Harris and our Deschutes County District Attorney, Steve Gunnels.
Stabilization Centers are a key component of our strategy to address the mental health crisis in Oregon. The Deschutes County Stabilization Center offers a jail diversion program that is designed to keep individuals who are struggling with substance abuse disorders and mental health conditions out of the criminal justice system. They also offer a place for law enforcement to voluntarily bring people instead of the emergency department or jail. Individuals stay for an average of 10 hours.
We discussed the Measure 110 Reforms and deflection programs that will start in September, which will give law enforcement agencies the tools they need to go after people who bring poison into our communities and address the fentanyl crisis.
Our community deserves to feel safe, and people who are experiencing addiction should be able to access treatment. We can do both.
Youth Access for Behavioral Health Services
Central Oregon needs greater access to emergency behavioral health services for children. Right now, far too many are relying on the Emergency Department for care. Some kids will be in the emergency room for more than a week waiting for a placement in a behavioral healthcare facility, which are all located in the Valley. Parents and caretakers should not have to drive 3 hours to get their child into care.
I met with behavioral healthcare providers at St. Charles to discuss youth mental health treatment and creating a Child Psychiatric Emergency unit here in Bend. We need beds here.
I am working with the Legislature, Deschutes County, our cities, and private groups to get the funding we need. This is a big lift and next legislative session we will need your help in advocating for these resources for our kids! We will send a guide on how to get involved when the 2025 Legislative Session begins.
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School Cell Phone and Tablet Usage Policies
Cell phones are getting in the way of teaching and learning in Oregon schools and we need a commonsense, well-considered statewide plan for addressing digital technology consistently across Oregon schools.
A 2023 study by Common Sense Media showed that Students receive more than 200 notifications on their devices a day, a quarter of which come in during the school day. Many of these notifications could even contain cyberbullying and academic misconduct. Nearly three-fourths of teachers interviewed in a nationwide survey say that cell phone use negatively impacts learning in the classroom, especially when it comes to reading and math skills.
I am working with the House Committee on Education to craft policy to protect the social, psychological, and future well-being of students by limiting technology use in the classroom. You can read more about it here, and please reach out if you have comments or concerns.
Community Wildfire Protection and Homeowner Insurance Concerns
Wildfires in Oregon have burned more acres of land in 2024 than in any year since reliable records began. With much of the wildfire season still ahead, our community is rightfully concerned about what increased risk will do for their homes and insurance premiums.
Publicly available data shows that from 2021 to 2023, insurance premiums increased 30.3 percent, increasing concerns that some premium rate increases could be tied to wildfire risk. In 2021 the Oregon Legislature passed SB 762, directing the Oregon Department of Forestry and Oregon State University to develop a comprehensive statewide map of wildfire risk. In 2023 the legislature passed SB 82, which forbids insurance companies from using any statewide wildfire map as the basis for increasing a premium, canceling a homeowner insurance policy, or declining to renew it.
Too many central Oregonians are unable to buy adequate and affordable homeowners insurance coverage. We can do more to incentivize and reward fire risk reduction. Recently we hosted leaders in the legislature and emergency management field to discuss wildfire funding, water issues, and funding for CORE3, a multi-agency coordination center for emergency operations. We also held a roundtable conversation with stakeholders to discuss what more we can do to keep our homes safe and keep our insurance costs down. Please reach out and let us know if you are having issues receiving affordable fire insurance.
Summer Learning and Back-to-School
As summer comes to a close, summer programs in our community are wrapping up. During the 2024 legislative session, I was proud to support House Bill 4082, which invested $30 million in school districts to provide high-quality and culturally relevant summer learning programs in partnership with community-based organizations and tribal nations.
These funds have helped expand Oregon students’ access to school and community-based programs that boost youth engagement; accelerate academic success; nurture social and emotional learning; promote mental, physical, and behavioral health; and support college and career readiness. Around 48,000 students are benefiting and will enter the school year with a strong start.
In addition to these investments, the Legislature passed important policies that will improve learning outcomes for students in foster care and students who are immigrants, refugees, or asylum-seekers, amplify student voices in policy-making, increase transparency of school boards, and improve school bus safety.
The bills passed in the 2024 session include:
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House Bill 4084, which is the Foster Care Student Success Pilot Grant Program, aiming to improve support and school outcomes for foster students.
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Senate Bill 1532, which creates a Student Success Plan for students who are asylum seekers, refugees, and other types of refugees to improve school support and ensure academic success.
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Senate Bill 1552, which establishes a Youth Advisory Group to give students ages 14-18 from historically marginalized backgrounds a voice in shaping policy decisions made by the Oregon Department of Education.
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Senate Bill 1502, which requires school boards, education service districts, community college districts, and public university boards to livestream their meetings and post recordings of the meetings within seven days.
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House Bill 4147, which allows buses to record drivers who fail to stop for bus safety lights and stop signs, enabling law enforcement to issue citations and improve safety.
I was proud to support these policies that help our kids be successful in school, grow and thrive.
Summer EBT Provides $120 Per Child for Groceries – Apply before September 2
The Summer EBT program offers $120 per child to Oregon families to help cover the cost of groceries when school food programs are not as easy to access.
Families that already receive SNAP, TANF, or OHP had Summer EBT benefits added to their EBT card on June 28; however, families who did not receive benefits automatically, particularly those with children in Head Start programs that participate in the National School Lunch or School Breakfast Programs, should still apply to determine their eligibility.
Check your eligibility for Summer EBT and apply at sebt.oregon.gov. Make sure you apply before September 2!
For families experiencing food insecurity, the summer months can be extremely challenging as their children are no longer able to receive meals through school. In an effort to reduce food insecurity among those children, the Legislature invested $12.2 million to the Summer EBT program to ensure children have access to food and to help ease the burden of food costs for low income and working families.
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Back-to-School Resources & Assistance with 211 Info
Summer is winding down, and 211info can help you find resources for school supplies, clothes, transportation, fee assistance, readiness programs, after-school programs, and more. Keep in mind that back-to-school programs can come and go quickly, so if you don’t find what you need at first, be sure to try again later.
For resources in your area, call 211, text your zip to 898211, email help@211info.org, or visit 211info.org.
Have You Been Affected by the 2024 Wildfires?
Oregon’s wildfire season this year is one of our worst to date, with more than 1 million acres burned. Given the statewide threat, it’s important to be prepared for anything when planning outdoor activities:
Access Resources
For urgent needs, you can contact 211info by calling 211, texting your zip to 898211, emailing help@211info.org, or visiting 211info.org.
Case Management
A case manager focused on you and your family can help meet your disaster-recovery needs, such as clothing, document recovery, and housing planning. Interpreters are available.
Call 1-833-669-0554 (open 24 hours) or fill out an online form at https://uniteus.com/oregonwildfires to get connected. For urgent assistance, contact 211.
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SNAP Benefits
Did you lose food you purchased with SNAP benefits due to a wildfire? Oregonians enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, can request replacement benefits from the Oregon Department of Human Services for food lost due to wildfires by visiting https://bit.ly/replacebenefits. You must request replacement benefits within 10 days
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Capitol Phone: 503-986-1453
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-486, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.EmersonLevy@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/levye
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