PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — All 6 Portland mayoral candidates took part in a forum Saturday afternoon to discuss Oregon’s ongoing addiction crisis.

The forum, moderated by Mike Marshall of Oregon Recovers, showed the candidates a study showing the state’s need for 3,000 more mental health beds — at a cost of $500 million — to meet surging demand.

Before the forum began, City Commissioners (and mayoral candidates) Mingus Mapps and Rene Gonzalez boiled down their approach to the issue.

“These are the experts in this space,” Mapps told KOIN 6 News. “I’m here to learn and to listen and figure out how we can collaborate.”

“Part of it is we have to clarify the role of the city in all this,” Gonzalez said. “We are the first responders, saving people’s lives when they’re overdosing.”

Candidates agreed on the need for more collaboration between Portland and Multnomah County.