Dear Friends and Neighbors,
My father was sober for most of my life. He relapsed twice for months at a time after my parents divorced. Both before I was born and after he picked the bottle back up, he spent more than one night in the drunk tank in the Denver County jail.We’ve come a long way in our approach to sobering since then, thank God. But so have the drugs. Indeed, the greater mental health and addiction issues faced by those who need sobering led to the closing of the primarily City-funded sobering center in 2019.
Of course the need for sobering didn’t go away. It’s only grown since fentanyl was introduced to Oregon. There’s widespread agreement that we need a new, safe, and humane place for people under the influence of alcohol, fentanyl, or other substances to get sober and hopefully connected to treatment.
I agree that we need to open a sobering center as soon as practicable. I voted with all my colleagues in support of a sobering center blueprint back in April. Led by Commissioner Brim-Edwards and a core group of folks, it was a good example of collaborative effort involving many stakeholders with differing expertise and views.
On July 25, I joined the majority of the board to approve renovating, but not operating, a site that the County leased for a temporary sobering center. This temporary center would also allow police who choose not to arrest people—whose only crime is using or having a personal amount of drugs—to use the center to meet the State’s deflection requirements. The County is also actively looking for a site for a permanent sobering center which will have more sobering beds (around 50 versus 16 at the temporary center) and a broader set of services and access.
Depending on who you’re talking to, what you’re reading or how you parse the difference between dropping someone off for sobering or for deflection—we’re moving too fast or not fast enough. I generally hesitate to speak first and ask questions later. I don’t think it makes for great governing. We end up talking past each other. And, as the famous quip goes, “it ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”We’ve heard from so many of you that aren’t sure what the plan is or want to know what I think. I’ve asked a lot of questions of County staff. Here are a few things I am thinking based on those answers:
Splitting the sobering center implementation into three phases makes sense to me. But I am looking for more details.
The Sobering Center Plan from April is an excellent blueprint. I do not view it as an operational or facilities plan. As that plan states, it “details the findings and recommendations” for a sobering center. It isn’t—nor was I expecting it to be—pressure tested for the real estate and regulatory realities of how long it will take to find and build a permanent site for sobering and get the permission to operate it. (The blueprint we approved always envisioned that the sobering center would be a drop-off center for deflection. If you wanna go deep, it’s on page 15.)
So the County is pursuing implementation in three phases:
Phase 1: Open a drop-off option as soon as possible in the temporary sobering center.
Phase 2: Given the delays of building and regulatory requirements, open sobering beds 3-6 months later in the same temporary center.
Phase 3: At the same time, start looking for a larger, permanent sobering center like our blueprint envisioned.
I am seeing many parallels, if not exact parallels, between our blueprint and our implementation. I've requested from the Chair a more clear, visual comparison between the blueprint we adopted in April and our three-phase implementation plan. I want to understand how the timeline and services line up. I await the details along with many. If they are too far apart, I will most definitely share my concerns.
The sooner we start building sobering beds at the temporary center, the sooner they open.
The vote we took on July 25 was to move forward on the necessary building and permitting to meet an aggressive timeline of opening for drop-off (phase one) as soon as September 1, then adding 16 sobering beds (phase two) three to six months later—nearly doubling what’s in the vicinity. From my read, this is six to nine months sooner than the sobering center blueprint, but I await the detailed comparison. Why can’t we open the beds sooner? Building and licensing requirements.
We have to separate sobering beds with a fire/smoke wall since people sobering up couldn’t necessarily flee the building by their own will in a dangerous event. That takes much longer to build. Even with this fire/smoke wall in place we are still limited to a maximum of 16 sobering beds and no longer than a 24-hour stay because exceeding either of these would trigger building code requirements that would not make financial or timing sense in a temporary center.
Between the County and our chosen non-profit operator of the center, Tuerk House, we also have to complete registration with the Oregon Health Authority as both a sobering facility and an accredited and certified opioid treatment program. These processes are underway, but the timelines for application and approval are not in the County’s hands alone.
Even if the beds aren’t there right away, I see value in drop off for deflection.
We won’t have sobering beds on day one. Still, opening the temporary center for drop-offs for a few months before we have sobering beds could get many individuals on the road to recovery without involving the criminal justice system. The drop-off center removes people from the site of their use and arrest. It gets them connected to peers and other services they need to get on their feet. Not everyone who uses drugs on our streets are homeless. But the center gives folks respite, a warm shower and laundry if they need it. Along with street-level outreach, it is an important tool in our deflection program. And we still need plenty more capacity in our treatment system.
We do not need to—and should not—start operating on September 1 if we aren’t ready.
We do not need to—and should not—start operating on September 1 if we aren’t ready. To paraphrase what I said at a recent hearing, there is a real difference between being ready to open the temporary sobering center and being ready to operate the temporary sobering center. My colleagues agreed and we unanimously approved Commissioner Brim-Edwards’ amendment to our decision last week to receive an operational update on August 15. We have an incredibly strong partner in Tuerk House, who has operated a sobering Center in Baltimore for more than 50 years. It is very possible that they can open that rapidly. But if we are not ready to open on September 1—with the staff, security and stakeholder understanding about how we will operate it—then we should not open. I have been and remain clear about that.
We can change systems, hold people to account and be decent to one another.
My dad died on February 8, 2018 a few months after turning 80. His heart gave out in the shower. While it’s true that he was an alcoholic in recovery, that is not how anyone who knew him would describe him. He was simply so much more human than that.
Anais Nin said, "I weep because you cannot save people. You can only love them." I imagine anyone who's tried to help someone in the throes of addiction can relate. We can't save them, so we love them through the support and services we provide as family, friends and community members until they are ready to save themselves. At least that’s what I believe.
This love is not unconditional—no you can’t do drugs wherever you want—but it ought to be hopeful. I don’t doubt that tough love works for some folks. The threat of arrest and catching a charge, we're hoping, will. But history shows us it won't work for plenty.
We have so much more work to do to build out a system of care that shows we don’t have to repeat that history. I am glad that so many communities across this State, including right here, are committing to that long road. Despite our collective frustration and questionable political headwinds, may we have the courage to change these things we can and the fortitude to see it through.
Sincerely,
Jesse
