Education + Advocacy + Action = CHANGE!
The Mental Health Association of Portland provides educational and advocacy opportunities for people with mental illness and addiction.
The three pillars of social change are litigation, legislation, and citizen advocacy. After 25 years of citizen advocacy, The Mental Health Association of Portland is shifting its mission to impact litigation.
If you have been injured in an Oregon jail, in a hospital or clinic,
The Association supports four enduring projects; the Law & Mental Health Conference, the Alternative Mobile Services Association, and the Mental Health Alliance, and the Public Housing Conference. The Association is a member of or in alliance with several organizations, including the Albina Ministerial Alliance for Justice and Police Reform, the Oregon Council on Behavioral Health, the Disability Rights Oregon, the Oregon Justice Resource Center, the Homeless Alcohol and Drug Intervention Network, The Policing Project of New York University Law School, and the Center for Innovations in Community Safety at Georgetown Law School.
The Association is peer-led, independent and impartial. It is not a government contractor, and receives no contract funding from governments. The Association maintains a large advisory council of both peers and professionals who are community leaders or subject matter experts.
Learn More ~
- Opposition to recent changes in Oregon’s civil commitment law
- Oregon Insane Hospital & the Lone Fir Cemetery
- From Asylum to Community – Mental Health Care in Oregon from the 1950s to 2000
- Oregon State Hospital History
- Recent Publishing by the Mental Health Association of Portland
- Media Guide: Your Language Matters When Writing About Mental Illness
- Unity Center Archive – 2015-2018
- Prosecution of Lethal Force in Oregon – guidance for journalists
- Advisory Committee Member’s Bill of Rights – September 2022
- Communicating with people who think differently – advice for members of the Portland Police Accountability Commission, November 2022
- Portland Candidate Forum – August 2024
Funding for the Mental Health Association of Portland in 2025-2026 comes from the Charles & Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, from the Microsoft Corporation, and from the Ford Foundation.