How to help people with addictions on the streets? These Oregon programs have solutions
By Sam Levin
The state has one of the highest US rates of substance use disorders and ranks last for access to treatment. These initiatives are changing what rehab looks like
Oregon has for years struggled with a drug crisis, reporting one of the highest rates of substance use disorders in the US and ranking last in the nation for access to treatment.
The problem is systemic, rooted in decades of failure to invest in the level of behavioral health services needed for people with mental illnesses and addiction. The Pacific north-west state’s significant affordable housing shortage has compounded the challenges, as people languish on the streets without care. Many drug users spiral downward until they overdose, wind up in jail or prison or are forced into Oregon’s overcrowded psychiatric system.
It is a cycle that has come at great cost to families and taxpayers, and in 2020, voters opted for a radical change. Measure 110, a ballot initiative passed by 59% of voters, decriminalized possession of small amounts of drugs, with the idea that users would not be jailed for the most minor offenses and instead encouraged into treatment. With an initial $302m investment in recovery services, the measure aimed to treat addiction as a disease, not a crime.
The state’s groundbreaking experiment was, however, quickly deemed a failure, blamed for a variety of complex social problems as decriminalization was timed with a surge in fentanyl overdoses, growing homelessness and pandemic-era gaps in social services.
Last year, lawmakers recriminalized drug possession, a swift reversal just as Measure 110-funded programs were starting to demonstrate their impact.
Some of the funding for the new treatment and recovery services has, for now, remained intact, with innovative programs chipping away at the crisis, though with reduced resources. The Guardian visited organizations across the state that are successfully turning people’s lives around, meeting with people who have, against steep odds, found recovery.
While serving divergent populations and using different strategies, the programs were united in their reliance on peer support and having staffers in recovery themselves. They attribute their success to their emphasis on building relationships and trust, treating people with dignity and providing easy-to-access services outside of the criminal legal system.
Here are four of their stories.