News

Read the original story from Oregon Public Broadcasting here. 

A report released today shows that Latinos in Oregon face inequities on a wide scale.

Governor Kitzhaber spoke Wednesday at an event releasing the report. He says that state programs like early education, community based health care systems and economic development programs can work to address inequities.

“I am totally committed to this. There’s no way we can achieve our educational achievement objectives, can achieve better population health statistics, or can increase per capita income above the national average in every region of this state unless we address the disparities within our communities of color in this state,” said Kitzhaber.

The three-year study was conducted by Portland State University and the Coalition of Communities of Color. It looked at how Latinos are faring in a number of areas, including education, poverty rates and health.  The study says, for example, that while sixty percent of white households own their own homes, only thirty-one percent of Latinos locally are homeowners.

Researchers used a variety of sources to come up with their findings including the U.S. census.