The Oregon chapter of The Arc in Salem was awarded $90,000 to help train direct support staff and mental health first aid instructors.
SALEM, Ore. — For the past 70 years, The Arc Oregon, a Salem-based nonprofit organization that has provided mental health services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), has recently received significant financial support. received.
UnitedHealthCare awarded The Arc a $90,000 grant. The grant will allow the company to help train at least 200 direct support staff across Oregon. It will also help select two staff members to complete Mental Health First Aid training and become certified instructors.
”[We] just [saw] Opportunity to apply. “We jumped on it,” said Em Braman, executive director of The Arc Oregon. How do we start getting the word out about this in Oregon? ”
According to America’s Health Rankings Mental and Behavioral Health Data Summary, people with disabilities are 3.5 times more likely to experience frequent psychological distress than adults without disabilities.
Braman says this will make a big difference for the entire community.
“There is a tremendous need for support, especially for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and diagnoses of mental illness,” Braman said. “So anything we can do in that area would be very gratifying.”
The funding is part of a three-year, $2.5 million grant from the United Health Foundation to The Arc. Braman added that Arc Oregon plans to continue training its workforce even after the funding expires in October 2026.
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