Portland, Ore. – More than ten days after the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary, students all over Oregon are talking about their role in preventing future tragedies. Hundreds of kids marched through downtown Bend this week, protesting gun violence.
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) says the Bend school shooting is top of mind everywhere, “I’ve had some of the most important United States Senators call me and say ‘I want to help’.”
Wednesday, he met with students at Sunset High School in Beaverton to discuss youth mental health. While the forum was scheduled prior to the October 15th tragedy, the topic was unavoidable. Student Keira Billings said, “I don’t think it should take a national headline and tragedies for us to care about the mental health of young people.” Gaya added, “If we normalize getting help early on, we can prevent these things from happening. Schools should be a safe space.” But Sophomore Subi acknowledged asking for help is tough, “There’s still this sort of stigma with teens and, ‘Oh, do I really want to do that? Are people going to judge me?’”
Stella said teens now are more aware of current events than previous generations, thanks to the constant flood of information from social media, “We’re seeing a lot more than we used to. That can be really scary; every day I wake up and I see something. I carry that with me all day, and I am terrified. I think it’s something teens are really struggling with.”
Senator Wyden says he gathered a lot of helpful information, “Starting with stigma, to parents, to questions of abusive insurance companies. The students were so thoughtful.”
Henry says he’s optimistic about the conversation, “What I really want to happen is just proactive legislation that can make sure that everybody has access to care.” And Ella says, “I really want people to be able to get the help they need before it’s too late.”
Sen. Wyden says he formed an advisory group so students can continue to send their input to his office.
