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Robyn Burek, program manager for Portland Street Response, told her team at roll call this morning she is leaving to take another job within city government.
Burek’s abrupt departure from the initiative she has led since its formation in 2020 is another sign of unsettled conditions at Portland Street Response. As WW reported in May, Tim Matthews, the Portland Fire & Rescue division chief who led the bureau’s Community Health Division, which includes Portland Street Response, was placed on leave in December after a falling out with Fire Chief Sara Boone. He subsequently filed a tort claim notice accusing Boone of retaliation, which she has denied.
Related: A High-Ranking Whistleblower’s Complaint Lays Bare Issues at Portland Fire & Rescue
Burek’s departure comes at a time of uncertainty for Portland Street Response, which emerged as a new initiative in the wake of the U.S. Department of Justice finding that the Portland Police Bureau’s responses to 911 calls for mental health crises were unacceptable.
Many officials here and across the country have responded positively to the concept. U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) were so impressed with the alternative response to mental health crises—pioneered in Eugene by the nonprofit CAHOOTS—that they obtained nearly $1 billion in federal funding to support similar programs nationally. But Portland Street Response faces uncertainty in its hometown.
Part of the issue: scarce resources. PSR competes with other, more traditional programs within the fire bureau budget, while its staff are not an easy fit in the bureau’s culture. Meanwhile, state and local officials have struggled to tap into the federal funding Wyden and Merkley obtained.
“Given the need to respond to mental and behavioral health care challenges in Portland, it’s crucial that programs like Portland Street Response work with the state and with community care organizations to get access to the enhanced Medicaid match as soon as possible,” Wyden told WW in May.
Fire Commissioner Rene Gonzalez, however, is less supportive of Portland Street Response than was his predecessor, Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty. After taking office this year, Gonzalez prohibited PSR from distributing tents and, under the new Community Health Division chief, Ryan Gillespie, PSR has been prevented from distributing clothes, food and other items it routinely gave people in crisis.
Portland State University, which the fire bureau hired to conduct regular evaluations of Portland Street Response, has produced reports that are generally positive about the program, although PSU analysts have also noted a deep cultural divide between the fire bureau and PSR. The Oregonian reported on the newest evaluation June 23.
Officials from around the country are seeking ways to replicate mental health crisis response, and representatives from many cities have come to Portland to observe PSR. As WW reported today, a planned visit by Detroit officials underscored tensions between PSR and the fire bureau.
That’s the backdrop for Burek’s departure, which caught many people by surprise. A licensed family therapist with an MBA, she took charge of the nascent program in November 2020 after serving as an analyst in the fire bureau. She will now move to a position in the City Auditor’s Office. Burek could not immediately be reached for comment.
Gillespie, who is serving as interim chief following Boone’s recent retirement, said the search for Burek’s successor will now begin.
“I want to thank Robyn Burek for her service and dedication to assisting those in crisis,” Gillespie said. “As the incoming chief of PF&R, I am dedicated to working with Robyn and her team to find a successor who will help us continue the important work of PSR.”