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Multnomah County has postponed the opening of its drug deflection center until mid- to late October because the county says it needs more time to train staff and ease safety concerns among residents in the Buckman neighborhood, where the facility is under construction.
The center, at 900 SE Sandy Blvd., was scheduled to open Sept. 1, the day that illegal drugs are set to be recriminalized across Oregon. That date was set by the Legislature when it repealed large parts of Measure 110 and recriminalized possession of controlled substances. As part of the repeal, legislators urged counties to “deflect” people toward treatment and away from jail.
Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson has for months been pressing to open the deflection center by Sept. 1, over the objections of community members. County Commissioner Sharon Meieran has also called for a pause, saying the plan wasn’t fully baked.
Vega Pederson announced the delay in a press conference today. She also unveiled a new name for the deflection center: the Coordinated Care Pathway Center.
“This is the prudent decision,” Vega Pederson said. “We want to get this right. September 1st was always a really aggressive timeline to open this.”
Mobile units deployed by the county health department will handle deflection until the center opens in October, Vega Pederson said. They will refer people to treatment and other services. The county is finalizing “medical and procedural guidance to support law enforcement in determining when and how to refer someone for deflection,” the county said in a statement.
Under House Bill 4002, which undid much of Measure 110, people stopped for user amounts of illegal drugs may seek deflection if they don’t have a warrant or face other criminal charges at the time of their arrest.
Vega Pederson and Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards have been sparring over the deflection center for months. Earlier this year, Brim-Edwards created plans for a sobering center. Since, then she has argued that the deflection center should add sobering as soon as possible. As it stands, the deflection center won’t offer sobering until mid 2025, and then only on a limited basis with 13 to 16 beds.
“Based on recent meetings and presentations, Chair Vega Pederson and her staff weren’t ready to open a center safely with adequate services and safeguards for the staff, those receiving deflection, and the neighboring community,” Brim-Edwards said in a text message today. “Commissioner Meieran had a resolution on this Thursday’s agenda to pause the opening until it was ready to operate, and I expect it would have been adopted.”
Vega Pederson developed the county’s deflection program with a team that included Portland Police Chief Bob Day, Gresham Police Chief Travis Gullberg, Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, and behavioral health and criminal justice experts.
The certificate of occupancy for the center, housed in an old printing warehouse, will be granted Aug. 28, at the earliest, the county said. As soon as it is, Tuerk House, the Baltimore-based contractor chosen to run the center, will enter the facility and begin training staff.
Tuerk House is hiring staff, a process that has been slowed by a shortage of nurses that persists even as the pandemic wanes. “More time is needed to recruit, onboard, and ensure compliance with licensing and credentialing requirements,” the county said.
“I’d like to thank health department staff for working tirelessly to develop a deflection model in partnership with Tuerk House,” health department director Rachael Banks said in a statement. “We are committed to providing deflection services safely, guided by behavioral health care best practices.”