Obituary: Beckie Child, Oregon Peer Advocate

Beckie Child, MSW, PhD, was born March 16, 1964 and passed away on October 25, 2025. I had the privilege of knowing her and working with her for over 25 years. She had a laser-like way of doing her peer advocacy work along with a disarming warmth working with everyone she encountered. Her death leaves a void that cannot be replaced.

She was persistent in achieving her academic goals, which led to both an MSW and PhD at Portland State University. She was a role model in many ways and garnered support from key people in Oregon‘s mental health system leadership and from peers here and elsewhere. In her academic work she published a number of papers such as “Understanding the experience of crime victims with disabilities and deaf victims” and “Learned Firsthand (SELF): Self-disclosure of lived experience in mental health services and supports.” Her appointment as Professor of Practice-Masters in Social Work at Utica University, the only recovery-oriented social work program in the US, meant that her influence on system change reached a national and international audience.

Before and after her work on graduate degrees, she participated in virtually every level of peer leadership in Oregon. Possibly most visible was her role as executive director of Mental Health America of Oregon but this was only one of many other influential roles. The governor appointed her to the State Hospital Advisory Board which led to what she considered her greatest achievement, the passage of a bill guaranteeing access to fresh air for patients at the state hospital. At least four other states have passed similar bills.

But this was only one of many advocacy actions. The dedication to her lifework was built in large part by her experiences with over 40 admissions to psychiatric hospitals. She delivered unlike any other advocate I have known.

Here are just a few of her accomplishments: She trained police in how to relate to people with mental health challenges, she taught people with lived experience about how to take care of their physical health along with the role of psychiatric medications, and she shared her experiences with homelessness and how to confront the system about the complex needs of people who come into contact with them. She helped start a number of peer-run organizations including a drop-in center and a statewide advocacy organization. She coordinated the Adult Mental Health and Addictions Services for Trauma Informed Oregon (TIO), and provided leadership to the Peerlink National Technical Assistance Center. These and many other successes led to numerous awards including the Mental Health Advocate of the Year by the Mental Health Association of Portland in 2019.

Beckie was the first Oregon peer advocate to earn a PhD in the mental field coming after years of leadership and advocacy and based on her experience in two states’ mental health systems. If one didn’t recognize her potential early on, it’s possible that few professionals here would have predicted she would achieve the kind of academic stature that she did. But that is exactly the lesson of hope and respect she has created for everyone in Oregon and in the rest of the country. She is already sorely missed.