Recovery experts say Multnomah County deflection center progress 'not enough' but a start

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Recovery experts are weighing in on the progress of Multnomah County's new deflection center, which just opened last week.

The Coordinated Care Pathway Center on Southeast Sandy Boulevard, part of the county's deflection program made possible with HB 4002, opened on Oct. 14.

Since then, in its first week, Multnomah County said the deflection center only saw six people and served four — the same figure predicted by officials to be the number of people they would serve per day.

"Currently, I think since we are doing the full deflections, we are doing about four on average but we don't know," Tuerk House CEO Bernard Gyebi-Foster said on Oct. 11.

The Baltimore-based Tuerk House is the non-profit organization tasked with running Multnomah County's deflection center.

The county delayed the deflection center's original Sept. 1 opening to accommodate staffing issues and allow for more community involvement.

Though the physical deflection center itself did not open until mid-October, Multnomah County still implemented a deflection program after HB 4002's Sept. 1 effective date. The new Oregon law reintroduces criminal penalties for people possessing small amounts of hard drugs while also allowing individual counties to start deflection programs to defer offenders to drug recovery programs instead of jail.

Multnomah County said that in their deflection program so far — from Sept. 1 to Oct. 20 — 82 people have accepted deflection.

Joe Bazeghi, the director of engagement for Recovery Works NW, told KOIN 6 News their organization welcomed the state's first case of deflection. The individual chose withdrawal management over jail on the day that the new law took effect.

Bazeghi said the organization now sees about one deflection case per week, several weeks after the law has taken effect.

"It's worthy to be looking at how many folks are truly being deflected from court systems and into substance use disorder behavioral health medical services. At this point, it's not enough," Bazeghi said.

KOIN 6 News reached out to the Portland Police Bureau, which offered the following data on the 150 preliminary drug possession cases since the law has been in effect:

• 60 - Deflected 

• 3 - Medical, Cited

• 71 - Ineligible 

• 19 - No Transport

"Individuals experiencing chaotic cycles and substance addictions, it's common that police involvement also includes things like theft charges, trespassing is a very common one," Bazeghi said. “It’s a very narrow qualification.” 

Bazeghi said while partnering agencies involved with the deflection process are still figuring things out, the program is promising so far. He said he expects to see more people getting treatment help in the coming months.

Below is a statement from a Multnomah County spokesperson when KOIN 6 inquired about its deflection center progress so far:

"We all want people with substance use disorder to get the help they need. And we know that people are far more likely to recover, heal and thrive when they have access to evidence-based services and care.

"The goal of the Coordinated Care Pathway Center is to connect people to substance use disorder treatment. This also ensures they remain free from legal system involvement. This is a new route to those treatment and recovery support services. To date, more than 168 referrals for services have been provided. 

"Law enforcement is responsible for determining who is eligible for deflection and referring them to deflection. Since Sept. 1, preliminary County estimates show that 82 people have been referred by law enforcement to the County. Participants have 30 days to access those services. Services may not be available the day they are deflected. Because the program is brand new, the County will release program outcome data after it has been analyzed and verified."