Emily Green

Image

Oregon Recovers co-founder and director, Mike Marshall (at right), speaks at an Oregon Recovers event last year. Tony Vezina, founder and director of 4D Recovery stands at left. | COURTESY OREGON RECOVERS

Advocates urge bold action to address Oregon’s addiction crisis

Oregon Recovers wants state officials to declare a state emergency and mobilize a response that includes temporary field services, immediate access to care and changes to Measure 110

Sep 13
Premium

Image

Dean Kienholz in his office at Columbia River Correctional Institution in Portland, Ore. on July 19, 2023. Kienholz is a prisoner who became a certified alcohol and drug counselor while incarcerated. | EMILY GREEN/THE LUND REPORT

A prison pipeline that could help meet Oregon’s behavioral health workforce needs

The state corrections department is expanding a program that certifies prisoners to be drug and alcohol counselors and mentors — and it couldn’t happen at a better time

Aug 25

Image

A room inside the Recovery Works NW's new withdrawal management facility on Southeast Foster Road in Portland, Ore. Most rooms are limited to two beds. | EMILY GREEN/THE LUND REPORT

First Measure 110-funded detox opens, will focus on fentanyl and alcohol

Recovery Works Northwest has opened a medical withdrawal management facility in Portland that has 16 beds and will serve Multnomah and Clackamas counties

Aug 18
Premium

Image

SHUTTERSTOCK

Measure 110 program manager resigns, says state was ‘maliciously negligent’

Angela Carter said Oregon Health Authority ignored repeated requests for staffing and resources and fostered secrecy and manipulation as the drug decriminalization law rolled out

Aug 11
Premium

Image

Screen shot from a map of 911 call data showing reports of overdose in Portland over the 18-month period from Jan. 1, 2022 to June 25, 2023. See below for the interactive map. | EMILY GREEN/DATAWRAPPER/THE LUND REPORT

Nearly 3,000 so far this year: Overdose 911 calls are up in Multnomah County

We mapped where they’re occurring and asked experts about the implications and how to spot one when it’s happening

Jul 28

Image

MOHAMED HASSAN/PIXABAY

Amid massive behavioral health spending, Oregon seeks information to guide it

The state has been spending a lot of money on fixing the behavioral health system — and hopes to do so according to a plan starting in 2024

Jul 6
Premium

Image

Ken Rush teaches a group of peer support mentors inside Origins Faith Community, a nonprofit in eastern Oregon that received funding through Measure 110 to start a peer support program and expand its services. | KYLE GREEN/THE LUND REPORT

More people accessing help under Measure 110 but gaps in services, data remain

New dashboard shows how $36.6 million was spent under the drug decriminalization law

Jun 28
Premium

Image

SHUTTERSTOCK

Plan for crisis stabilization in Portland shifts amid uncertainty

Citing challenges to setting up a large crisis stabilization center, the county is looking for providers to run smaller sobering and stabilization programs

Jun 15

Image

Patients sleep at the Hooper Detoxification Stabilization Center in Portland on March 14, 2023. At Hooper, doctors and nurses oversee the medical needs of patients as they go through alcohol and drug withdrawal — a critical first step toward recovery. | EMILY GREEN/THE LUND REPORT

Meth, fentanyl pose new problems for overwhelmed detox providers

Painful drug withdrawals that last longer, new mental health hurdles and lack of follow-up care are leading to missed opportunities, workers say

Jun 1