Business stresses 4 ideas on drug deflection

By Portland Metro Chamber,

On July 11, the Portland Metro Chamber testified to express concerns for the implementation of Multnomah County’s drug addiction and deflection system.

Jay Clark, director of Public Affairs, stressed that the Chamber supported HB 4002, which provided $25 million in state funding for a regional 24/7 sobering center, but was concerned that the current direction is not consistent with that legislation and does not follow the recommendations developed by County Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards back in April.

In the letter, the Chamber strongly urged the county to consider the following recommendations:

1. Deflection and 24/7 sobering should be implemented simultaneously as a single integrated system
   The 24/7 drop-off sobering center and Treatment Readiness Center should be one and the same and both must be implemented at once. Adhering to the rapid implementation timeline stated in the plan by Commissioner Brim-Edwards and reviewed by the board of commissioners in April 2024 should be a priority.
2. Treatment Readiness Center must not repeat the mistakes of the Downtown Behavioral Health Resource Center (BHRC)
   The county cannot open the Treatment Readiness Center without an operational plan in place to minimize the external impacts of the facility, including a good neighbor agreement with the nearby businesses, property owners, and residents. The Chamber will oppose the opening of this new facility unless a transparent external operational management plan has been approved.
3. Multnomah County’s deflection system must require registration, tracking, and accountability
   The deflection system should be a tri-county regional system with few to no policy and practice gaps, otherwise we will continue to see disproportionate impacts of hard drug addiction in Multnomah County. There must be clear limitations and county alignment on the number of times an individual can be “deflected” before going to jail. Otherwise, it will just be an ongoing revolving door that drains provider resources and offers zero accountability. Without accountability, tracking, and transparency, deflection will simply be another name for what our community experienced under Measure 110.
4. Transparency with the County Board of Commissioners and the community
   The Chamber is deeply concerned that the county Board of Commissioners has not been included in the implementation process. The exclusion of Commissioner Brim-Edwards, who delivered a well-designed and broadly supported recommendation for a 24/7 sobering center, is particularly egregious. We urge the Executive Committee to require the county staff to deliver weekly updates to the Multnomah County Commission on deflection and the Treatment Readiness Center implementation, including 24/7 drop-off sobering, at public hearings. The deflection system must also require a public dashboard that reports deflection system data in real time to the public.

The Portland Metro Chamber is committed to being an active partner to help implement this incredibly important and critical mission to help addicted Portlanders get on a path to recovery and reduce the negative impacts that widespread addiction has wrought on our community.

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