Deadline extended for MultCo drug user drop-off center amid community concern
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The opening of Multnomah County’s drug user drop-off center is on pause until mid- to late October as controversy continues to surround the site planned for the Buckman neighborhood.
The “deflection” center, tasked with referring drug users to treatment services to help them avoid jail time, was originally set to open in September until Chair Jessica Vega Pederson announced Monday that it wouldn’t be able to open in time.
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When opened, the Coordinated Care Pathway Center will give law enforcement in the city a place to drop off those found in possession of drugs like meth and fentanyl after these drugs become recriminalized on Sept. 1.
But in a public meeting on Tuesday, Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said the best decision for Multnomah County is to delay the opening of the center due to staffing concerns — specifically related to a shortage of the nurses needed for the center’s intake process.
Commissioners and residents of the Buckman neighborhood are commending the halt, though the Chair is still facing backlash for her behind closed-door process. According to some commissioners, they found out about this pause through local reporters on Monday.
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In the meantime, Multnomah County plans to use mobile outreach to connect drug users with recovery services that would allow them to avoid, or “deflect,” jail time. This system will involve specialists working alongside law enforcement to refer those caught with drugs to addiction treatment.
David Watnick, an attorney with Perkins Coie, represents the Escuela Viva Community School, which sits roughly 500 feet away from the county’s proposed deflection center on Southeast Sandy Boulevard. The preschool placed the county on notice earlier this month when Watnick threatened litigation on their behalf if the site opened on Sept. 1, as originally planned.
But with the deadline pushed back, Watnick said he hopes county leadership uses the extra time to finalize a Good Neighbor Agreement and develop a proactive safety plan prior to opening any doors.
“I commend the county’s decision, but if they think that a short pause solves all the problems, I think they’re going to find they’re wrong,” Watnick said.
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For instance, Watnick says that those without photo identity cards, some drug users could be brought to the deflection center without their true identity on record.
“We think they need to have a plan — fingerprinting, or whatever else it may be, to make sure they know exactly who’s being brought there, and then transportation away from the facility being required,” Watnick said.
Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards added, “I don’t know why we couldn’t say part of deflection is once you’ve had your services assigned to you, that you will have transportation to your next step.”
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And yet positive identification of those served and mandatory transportation offsite is still not a requirement, according to a Multnomah County Board meeting on Tuesday.
However, county representatives say a person cannot qualify for deflection if they are committing other crimes while caught in possession, have outstanding warrants, are too heavily intoxicated, or have failed deflection within the last 30 days.
When a person accepts deflection, officers will drive and hand off the deflectors to the center (once open). Until then, police officers will bring drug users to a mobile outreach service. Once dropped off, participants will be asked to sign a release of information before a nurse provides screening for mental health and substance use.
From there, the person will receive a care plan and get connected to services or additional medical treatment, if needed. Successfully completing these steps will have “successfully” deflected, according to the county’s standards.
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However, a city representative during Tuesday’s presentation clarified that if a person changes their mind during the deflection process, they could essentially walk away having “failed” instead. Criminalization could then come into play if someone is found in possession of hard drugs within the next 30 days, because they would be ineligible for deflection again.
That means the system does pose an opportunity for people to escape criminal penalties and treatment at the same time.
“We should expect that if people who are desperately addicted to these substances are free to walk out of the deflection center whenever they want, they will need more drugs, and there will be a market there to meet that need,” Watnick said.
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