Salem nonprofit says agencies put up 'huge, obvious, inequitable barriers

In Salem, Oni Marchbanks leads the nonprofit Equity Splash. Marchbanks and Salem-Keizer school board member Satya Chandragiri have been planning a five-week youth program this summer focused around science, technology, engineering, art, and math, or STEAM, with guest speakers and students learning skills from experts, such as coding.

Without access to state funds, Marchbanks said they’re still planning on starting the program in July, but with a “zero budget,” and no staff or laptops.

“It’s really disheartening when, no matter how many board meetings you sit in, no matter how many difficult conversations you have, no matter how many workshops you facilitate, no matter how many tears you cry, that agencies still put out these barriers, these huge, obvious, inequitable barriers to access for funding and opportunity for certain groups,” Marchbanks said.

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