Central Oregon Health Council holding region-wide listening sessions
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Central Oregon Health Council is hosting a series of 11 listening sessions throughout the region to hear from residents who are struggling to pay for basic needs yet earn too much to qualify for financial assistance.
Participants will be asked to share how they are coping, their greatest challenges, frustrations, and ideas and solutions. Each listening session participant will receive $50 and a free meal.
“Too many people live in a situation where they’re not eligible for financial assistance but they just can’t make ends meet,” said MaCayla Arsenault, project manager for the Central Oregon Health Council. “Our goal is to listen so that we can understand people’s current challenges and needs to help guide future funding and resource decisions.”
According to Arsenault, this growing population is referred to as ALICE, an acronym for Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed.
“ALICE represents those of us who are unable to afford the basics, like housing, childcare, food, transportation, health care, and technology,” said Arsenault.
There will be 11 ALICE listening sessions offered between September 2022 and January 2023. Both English and Spanish sessions will be held in Bend, Redmond, Prineville, and Madras. English listening sessions will also be held in Sisters, La Pine (including northern Klamath residents), and Warm Springs.
For more information about the Central Oregon Health Council listening sessions, or to learn more about upcoming dates, call (541) 610-4304 or email info@cohealthcouncil.org.
About Central Oregon Health Council
The Central Oregon Health Council is a not-for-profit public and private community governance entity. COHC works to improve the health of the region and provides oversight of the Medicaid/OHA population and the region’s Coordinated Care Organization (CCO), PacificSource. COHC was officially created by Senate Bill 204 in 2011 to promote the health of the region’s residents and seeks to achieve the Triple Aim of improving health outcomes, increasing satisfaction with the health system, and reducing costs. Visit www.cohealthcouncil.org for more information.
