“It was very difficult,” said Amanda Diemert. “Not just dealing with my addiction but dealing with the abuse and the homelessness all at once. I felt like I was battling three different things.”
Diemert was struggling with addiction and homelessness when she entered the Treatment First and STOP (Sanction, Treatment, Opportunity, Progress) Drug Court Program. Today, Diemert has a job and her own place. The program allows people facing possession of a controlled substance or drug charges the opportunity for treatment and connection to services. Those who complete the program have their charges dismissed or reduced.
The program has dramatically decreased the number of felony drug convictions and racial and ethnic disparities in felony drug possession cases in Multnomah County. It’s also part of Multnomah County Safety and Justice Challenge strategies to reduce unnecessary incarceration.