Governor signs agriculture worker suicide prevention bill into law in Prairie City
Published 9:00 am Monday, July 24, 2023
- Gov. Tina Kotek signs Senate Bill 955 on Thursday, July 20, 202, at Prairie City. The bill funds an AgriStress Helpline to provide mental health aid for agricultural workers. Sitting, from left, are Allison Myers of Oregon State University, Kotek and state Rep. Bobby Levy. Standing, from left, are first lady Aimee Wilson, Grant County Commissioner Jim Hamsher, state Sen. Lynn Findley, state Sen. Bill Hansell, Wallowa County Commissioner and Oregon Cattlemen’s Association President Todd Nash and state Rep. Mark Owens.
PRAIRIE CITY — Gov. Tina Kotek signed a new suicide prevention hotline bill for agricultural workers into law in Prairie City on Thursday, July 20.
She was joined by Grant County Commissioner Jim Hamsher, Senator Lynn Findley, state Sen. Bill Hansell, state Reps. Mark Owens and Bobby Levy and Wallowa County Commissioner Todd Nash at the home of Hamsher’s son Trever for the signing.
The legislation, Senate Bill 955, provides $300,000 to fund the implementation of an AgriStress helpline in Oregon, administered through the Oregon State University Extension Service. Hamsher said the issue was dear to his heart because of the list of his family members, friends, neighbors and classmates who have lost their lives to suicide.
Hamsher said people in agriculture are raised to “be tough, handle everything on their own and shield their families from any troubles.”
Hamsher said he was happy with the new legislation because now “folks have some place they can discuss this stuff before it reaches to that point so lives can be saved.”
On a Facebook post, State Sen. Bill Hansell said he chiefly sponsored the bill, which allocates money so that Oregon can connect with an existing national AgriStress Helpline, which offers immediate and confidential assistance for agricultural workers. The people answering the HelpLine receive specialized training about the pressures facing agricultural workers.
“Statistically, farmers and ranchers have one of the highest suicide rates of any occupation,” Hansell wrote on his Facebook post. “Farmers are an independent, proud, stubborn, hard-working group of individuals with a lot of pressure with which they deal, almost on a daily basis. It is my hope and prayer that SB955 will help save lives of those engaged in this wonderful and vital occupation.”
