Multnomah County leaders announce SE Portland location for future sobering center
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – After months of planning, Multnomah County leaders have decided on a location in Southeast Portland for a permanent sobering center.
Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards joined Heather Mirasol, the director of Multnomah County Health Department’s Behavior Health Division, to share plans for the upcoming Sobering and Crisis Stabilization Center on Thursday.
The new center, located at 1901 SE Grand Avenue, will house up to 50 beds with sobering and withdrawal management services. Leaders said they chose this space because it met evaluation criteria — including space for services, a central location with access to hospitals, and no schools nearby.
"We know the real value of expanding our behavioral health continuum of care and providing sobering and stabilization resources for everyone who needs a new way forward,” Vega Pederson said. “This center is critical to our successful partnership with law enforcement and will expand options for engagement in our shared work to provide safer streets and a better pathway away from them."
The sobering center’s development coincided with the passage of HB 4002, which went into effect in September 2024. The bill reintroduced criminal penalties for people possessing small amounts of hard drugs in Oregon, but also provided an option for individual counties to assist people with addiction recovery.
And while a recently-opened temporary deflection center in Portland's Buckman neighborhood provides drug users with an opportunity to avoid jail time by seeking resources for treatment, it does not offer a place to physically receive treatment.
Once opened, the Sobering and Crisis Stabilization Center will include 24/7 staffing and support, observation beds for sobering services, medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder, access to basic necessities and transportation assistance.
Multnomah County commissioners said the new sobering center will be able to treat people addicted to multiple substances, with three main goals:
- Provide trauma-informed care for intoxication or withdrawal
- Serve as a low-barrier alternative to emergency departments and jails
- Offer sobering, stabilization, withdrawal management, peer support, and care coordination
But several roadblocks have led to a delay in the center’s official opening — projected to take place in Fall 2026. Leaders said the opening date will be set once other evaluations are completed.
In the meantime, those brought to the Coordinated Care Pathway Center on SE Sandy Boulevard are given referrals to shelter and treatment. Officials said the temporary deflection center will expand to include 13 sobering beds by Spring 2025.
Once the permanent sobering center opens, the temporary site will close.
Commissioner Brim-Edwards said the county's goal is to create a successful diversion for drug users other than emergency rooms and jails.
"A key metric will be are we successfully connecting them to start their journey and give them a path to getting treatment, and getting their next step to recovery," the commissioner said.
Currently, those who choose to avoid jail time have 30 days to complete their deflection process. The care coordination team is responsible for following up with each person. If people don’t complete the deflection process, they’re ineligible for deflection if they are arrested again.