Proposed Deflection Center lacks real accountability and risks becoming a revolving door rather than a meaningful intervention.
Remember when state lawmakers overhauled Measure 110 with the intent of reducing open drug usage & encouraging treatment and recovery? Yeah, we do too. Multnomah County must not have gotten the memo.
Turns out, with their new "deflection program they are undermining the spirit of the new law. They have resisted requiring treatment or recovery participation and, originally, set no limit on the number of times someone could choose deflection. Instead, they proposed that those caught with hard drugs can opt to go to a new $2 million "drop-off center" instead of https://www.multco.us/chair-vega-pederson/webform/contact-chair-vega-pedersonarrest.
Tell the County Commission to intervene and make this program MORE effective by including more structure and requirements for treatment.
Tell them to instruct County staff to learn from their mistakes and open the doors to a more inclusive dialogue on projects such as this.
Remind them that transparency and collaboration are essential to the success of any public initiative.
Tell them to consider alternatives to arrest like our civil compromise proposal.
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