Unknown people use drugs in downtown Portland. (Kristyna Wentz-Graff/OPB)

Oregon counties have been gradually adopting the state’s new approach to addressing fentanyl overdoses and drug addiction.

In the first four days, eight people in Oregon’s largest county agreed to participate in a diversion program designed to keep drug users out of court and jail and toward treatment or other recovery services, Multnomah County officials said at a news conference Thursday.

The eight individuals would otherwise have faced drug possession charges under Bill 4002that lawmakers passed this session to combat rising overdoses and public drug use. The law, which went into effect Sunday, allows counties to set up diversion programs that allow people to avoid charges if they participate in recovery services.

Multnomah County and 27 other provinces are planning to set up programs. But nowhere is the fentanyl addiction crisis more visible than in Portland, a metropolis where public drug use surged after voters passed Measure 110, which decriminalized possession of small amounts of the drug and directed a portion of cannabis revenues to addiction programs and services. The new law recriminalized drug possession, with the goal of steering people toward treatment and related services, such as housing and peer mentors, rather than filling jails.

But Oregon’s fight against fentanyl is a marathon, not a quick fix, officials and emergency workers say.

“We all know we have much work to do due to the increased demand and chronic shortage of our services,” said Multnomah County Chairman J.said Essica Vega Pederson. “We know that treatment is the most effective path to recovery. We are dealing with a very challenging public health problem.”

Oregon has a shortage of providers that offer drug addiction treatment and other services, such as residential facilities to treat people and provide housing. And it doesn’t have enough supportive housing with access to social services.

A state report found that Oregon has a shortage of 3,700 beds for behavioral health facilities, including those suffering from addictions. State lawmakers have allocated $211 million for services including substance abuse treatment, recovery housing and other programs.

But the programs will take time to expand and grow. Agencies need to hire people and facilities need to be built. And funding needs to be provided.

In Multnomah County, officials have yet to open a drop-off assessment center for people arrested by police. The center has secured $25 million in state funding to get started and expand in the future.

Officials expect the center to open in mid- to late October, but in a phased approach, with the goal of eventually being open 24 hours a day. The county has not yet finalized its planning.

Without the center, police and counselors — such as those at Portland’s 4D Recovery Center — reach out to people on the street with addiction and try to engage them and encourage them to seek treatment or other services within the 30-day period they have before drug possession charges can be filed.

Tony Vezina, 4D’s president, said it will take time to bring the services online.

““Right now, everybody wants people to get help,” he said. “We’re just figuring out how to do it, and there’s going to be some bumps along the way. But anything you do that’s monumental or significant has bumps.”

How it works

Under the county’s deflection plan, if someone is stopped by police and has illegal drugs for personal use, they are eligible for recovery services if they have no other crimes and have not failed their deflection in the past month. Police officers still have the authority to arrest someone or use the program.

To pass, a person must complete a screening, receive a referral for services, and contact the recommended provider within 30 days. That does not mean treatment must begin within 30 days. Based on an individual’s plan, they can take steps to get into housing or other services, such as counseling.

Anyone who fails to respond within 30 days may be arrested and charged.

The outcome for those eight people will become clearer after that 30-day period. At that point, about 50% of the people were able to access some form of service, Vezina said.

The numbers don’t tell the whole story either. Vezina said his team reaches out to people who don’t have contact with law enforcement and seek help. Those people aren’t counted in the diversion numbers.

During that 30-day period, caregivers – often people who have recovered from their addiction themselves – stay in contact with people as much as possible, building relationships and encouraging them to recover.

For now, this is the system Oregon is using to set up diversion programs throughout the state.

““We know we don’t have all the services we need here or across the state,” said Rachael Banks, director of the Multnomah County Health Department. “But we have to start somewhere, and we’re starting here, and every opportunity to connect with someone is really a step toward building the system that we want.”

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