Toward the end of a March 20 community meeting on Multnomah County’s planned 24-hour Sobering and Crisis Stabilization Center in Southeast Portland, Portland Police Bureau Central Precinct Commander Brian Hughes framed the need from a professional and personal perspective.
“How many people in this room have family members or friends or neighbors that have had somebody overdose,” Hughes asked.
Nearly half of the roughly 50 people present raised a hand.
“I’ll put my hand up, too,’’ Hughes said. “My neighbor lost her oldest last week.’’
“I’ve told [Chair Jessica Vega Pederson] this many times — and this is not going to be a surprise to her,” he said. “I could take a bus out there right now, and drive around Portland and fill it up with a hundred people without really even trying. We’re exploring all options to try and get people to this facility.… My hope is that the place fills up quickly and that we can maybe see some hope with regards to this. I can assure you that jail is typically not the answer.”
In early January, the County announced plans to purchase a building at 1901 S.E. Grand Ave to serve as a new sobering and crisis stabilization center. The property, once renovated, would provide a permanent location for sobering, deflection and withdrawal management services that connect people to local treatment and recovery services, helping keep them from jail and hospital emergency departments or being left intoxicated on the streets.
Law enforcement and first responder agencies would be able to drop off people under the influence of drugs or alcohol so they could access services in a welcoming and safe environment. The new center would house up to 50 sobering beds and offer a combination of sobering and withdrawal management services. Once open, it would replace the County’s temporary deflection center, also in Southeast Portland.
The plan can be viewed here: Sobering & Crisis Stabilization Center Plan (1.28 MB)
About 30 community members attended the 75-minute meeting, joined by another 20 or so observers, advocates and government officials, including State Rep. Rob Nosse, D-Portland, Multnomah County and City of Portland staff, and providers who support or engage with people in recovery.
Along with Chair Vega Pederson, Commissioners Julia Brim-Edwards, who helped champion the plan for the County’s center, and Meghan Moyer, whose district includes the planned site, also attended. The meeting will be one of several with the community, including work to develop a Good Neighbor Agreement.
During a question-and-answer session, Chris Eykamp, chair of the Hosford-Abernethy Neighborhood District, said he supports the sobering center and noted he’s pleased it will be a drop-off facility. But he expressed concern about whether the County might someday also use the building as a safe injection site and asked about whether that could be addressed in a Good Neighbor Agreement.
Addressing the question, Vega Pederson said no conversations have occurred about a safe injection site among the five-member Board of Commissioners. She also said any change in use that significant would require discussions and a process deeper than a Good Neighbor Agreement.
“That is something that would have a huge impact for our community and would take tons of conversation and discussion,” Vega Pederson said. “What we do know, though, is that the need for the sobering services, the need for the crisis stabilization and the withdrawal management that are going to be there, are long-term needs in our community. So, transferring that site to a different purpose, I really don’t see that happening.”
Details of the Sobering and Crisis Stabilization Center, including timelines for the purchase and renovations, as well as operational funding, were addressed by a panel that included Hughes and other officials:
- Anthony Jordan, senior manager, Multnomah County Health Department
- Marc Harris, manager, Multnomah County Health Department
- Dan Zalkow, director, Multnomah County Facilities
- Dorothy Elmore, director, Multnomah County Workplace Security
- Carey Kaer, chief deputy, Multnomah County Sheriff's Office;
- Skyler Brocker Knapp, director, City of Portland’s Portland Solutions
Zalkow answered a question about when the project would be completed, saying there is no set date yet. He said April 3 is the anticipated closing date for the purchase of the building on S.E. Grand Avenue.
Chair Vega Pederson addressed a question about funding in light of a projected County budget gap for Fiscal Year 2025-26. She said program elements of the Sobering and Crisis Stabilization Center will be funded, in part, through partnerships with the Portland Police Bureau (sobering) and the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission (deflection), and through income generated through Medicaid billing (withdrawal management and other services).
“We have heard loud and clear that this is a need in our community,” Vega Pederson said. “It’s really important to give people outside on the streets a place to go that is safer, that is stabilizing and gets them on a path to recovery. So, this is a commitment. We know how important this is to law enforcement and other first responders. It’s going to take partnership and multiple sources of revenue to make sure it works.”
Elmore responded to a concern about the ability of community members to reach County officials to report safety and security issues. She provided a 24-hour number for neighbors to contact Multnomah County’s Security Operations Center: 503-988-6080.
“You will get a live person speaking to you,’’ she assured.
During opening remarks, Commissioner Moyer said she is “really very committed for this to be a successful new addition to inner Southeast Portland.”
“As the commissioner in District 1,’’ Moyer said, “I am committed to working to make sure that this new facility is a good neighbor; that we are responsive; and that we are addressing concerns that come up.”
