The Coordinated Care Pathway Center is a new center in Southeast Portland designed to connect community members to recovery services as an alternative to legal system involvement. Unlawful possession of a small amount of a controlled substance is considered a misdemeanor in Oregon effective September 1, 2024. Community members stopped by law enforcement may be eligible for deflection services instead of facing arrest.
Deflection will provide appropriate, evidence-based, and coordinated recovery services. The Pathway Center offers deflection services and will ultimately serve as a sobering center. The Pathway Center is open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and weekends 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Bi-weekly data snapshot
Multnomah County releases a bi-weekly snapshot with data on number of referrals, number of deflections initiated, referring partners and more. This report includes a two-week lag to analyze and verify data.
- DocumentDeflection Center Data Snapshot - Nov. 1-15 (152.04 KB)
- DocumentDeflection Center Data Snapshot - Oct. 14-31 (142.94 KB)
Who will provide deflection services?
Tuerk House is the service provider for the Pathway Center. 4-D Recovery, a community-based recovery organization, Volunteers of America (VOA), a community-based organization, and PATH (Promoting Access to Hope) provide field-based deflection services in other parts of the county.
Who will be dropped off there?
People who are stopped by law enforcement for suspected possession of small amounts of illegal substances may be eligible for deflection if:
- They have no other outstanding warrants;
- They were not committing other offenses at the time of the law enforcement encounter; and
- Are not experiencing a medical emergency or experiencing a mental health crisis; and
- Can knowingly and voluntarily agree to deflection.
Some people may be referred to deflection by the Multnomah County District Attorney’’s office at a pre-trial hearing to be eligible to participate in the program. Oregon law states that law enforcement partners have full discretion to determine who is and is not eligible for deflection.
Who has been involved in crafting these policies?
A team of expert partners continue to develop what will eventually become a final deflection plan. Partners actively driving this shared work include law enforcement agencies such as the Portland Police Bureau, the Gresham Police Department and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office; the City of Portland; the District Attorney’s Office, including DA-elect Nathan Vasquez; Multnomah County Circuit Court Presiding Judge Judith Matarazzo; and public defense and healthcare providers.