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As lawmakers gaveled down the end of the 2024 session March 7, Multnomah County got one of the biggest gifts in the “Christmas tree” spending bills that accompany the end of every session.
This session, lawmakers had money to spend, and in an election year, poll results and direct contact with constituents were telling them conditions on the streets are unacceptable. That explains Democrats’ willingness to gut Measure 110, the drug decriminalization initiative voters approved in 2020, and it also explains their willingness to toss a big chunk of cash—$25 million—to Multnomah County to help replace the drop-off sobering center that closed at the end of 2019.
The closure of that facility left police and other first responders with few options for where to take people who are highly intoxicated. Such people normally don’t belong in jail because they haven’t committed crimes, and they don’t belong in already overcrowded hospital emergency rooms. But they often can’t stay on the streets because they are danger to themselves or others.
For nearly five years, the county and the city of Portland, which operated the drop-off sobering center under a contract with Central City Concern overseen by the Portland Police Bureau, have dithered about replacing the facility.
Now, with $25 million for the project, the county should be able to make progress. County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson has deputized Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards to expedite work on the project. In a draft plan released March 4, the county said it would need $25 million for a new facility and $14 million a year to operate it.
Eric Zimmerman, chief of staff to Brim-Edwards, says his boss is grateful lawmakers understood the urgency of the need.
“The Legislature had asked us for a draft budget for what it could take to stand up sobering and deflection type services,” Zimmerman says. “We provided that and we are thrilled they chose to fund it. Commissioner Brim-Edwards continues to meet with her colleagues on the board and city commission for feedback on the draft sobering center plan. She remains focused on bringing this plan to action as quickly as possible.”