View the original articleFull article originally published by OregonLive Nov. 17, 2023, 6:00 a.m.
Despite millions of dollars and tens of thousands of hours invested over four years to reopen a larger and improved sobering center in Portland, efforts were thwarted by conflicting interests and a lack of unified leadership. The closure of Portland’s sole drop-off program for intoxicated individuals exacerbated the city's drug overdose epidemic, prompting a coalition of over 80 groups to envision a comprehensive solution. However, despite their efforts to create a facility offering immediate assistance and diversion from emergency departments or jail, the project faces significant delays amidst a backdrop of rising substance abuse rates and inadequate treatment access in Oregon.
The county funding decisions don’t provide the one-stop drop-off center where police and other first responders can take someone struggling from a variety of problems, according to Cohen and others.
“There was a vision that many voices in the community had to develop a model that involved the ability for first responders to get people off the street to where they needed to be,” said Lones, the city consultant. “We strongly believe that needs to happen, and we don’t think that’s in lieu of other treatment models that’s developed downstream.’’
Shannon Smith-Bernardin, co-founder and president of the National Sobering Collaborative, said sobering beds in hospitals are more expensive to run and hospitals don’t allow for an easy drop-off for first responders. The national nonprofit was founded in 2015 by three medical professionals to support sobering care services outside of jails and emergency rooms.
“With the number of individuals who are experiencing homelessness, including unsheltered homeless, with the amount of substance use, Portland would benefit dramatically from being able to get first responders an alternative to the ED (emergency department) and jail,” Smith-Bernardin said.
- By Maxine Bernstein | The Oregonian/OregonLive
