Measure 110 Hotline gets new ownership; OHA reports increase in calls

(Update: Adding video and comments from Oregon Health Authority)

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — People seeking Measure 110 services and supports can now access a newly invigorated helpline to connect individuals more efficiently with treatment, housing and overdose prevention providers within the statewide behavioral health resource networks.

"The hotline adds one more way that people can get access to services or find out what is available within their communities," said Kristen Donheffner, who works as the strategy and engagement manager for the Oregon Health Authority.

OHA announced recently that Health Resources in Action (HRiA), a non-profit organization based in Boston, was selected as the new contractor for the helpline, replacing Lines for Life.

The firm has extensive experience working with federal and state government agencies, such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the federal Department of Health and Human Services. HRiA operates helplines in three other states: Massachusetts, Illinois, and Vermont.

The 18-month contract totals more than $2.8 million. The firm is planning to undertake extensive statewide outreach and add new functionalities to the hotline, such as texting.

"This contractor was chosen specifically for the strength of their application, for their experience running hotlines in other states, and for their commitment to really get the word out about the hotline and to make sure that more oregonians knew about it," Donheffner said.

OHA said the helpline will continue to be a statewide public resource for substance use screening and service referrals, as well as a resource for those seeking to waive Class E citations. 

Under its proposal, HRiA will operate the phone and text helpline, develop a comprehensive website to support the helpline, offer follow-up calls to support service access, and promote the hotline.

The new helpline number is 1-833-975-0505.The previous helpline phone numbers, 503-575-3769 and 541-575-3769, will continue to operate and will feed into the new 833 number.

Since 2021, 577 people called the helpline. Nearly half of them had citations.

“We’re excited to partner with HRiA to refresh the Measure 110 helpline,” said OHA Behavioral Health Director Ebony Clarke. “We know the helpline has been vastly underutilized, and we’re optimistic that HRiA’s trauma-informed and compassionate approach to supporting individuals in need of help will make it easier for Oregonians to access Measure 110’s life-saving services and supports.”

Measure 110 network providers reported continued increases in the number of clients served statewide in all seven network service areas, according to the latest quarterly program reports filed with OHA.

"If people are in any danger, if people are using substances, if they are interested in recovery services, housing, food, that kind of thing. And then the person who is answering the hotline can refer the caller to services in their community," said Donheffner.

Overdose prevention and peer support services accounted for the largest client gains in the quarterly reporting and over all three quarters. Substance use treatment providers reported 41 percent more clients in quarterly gains and 104 percent over the first three quarters in operation.

In November 2020, Oregon voters passed Measure 110, the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act of 2020, which became effective Dec. 4, 2020, to better serve people actively using substances or diagnosed with a substance use disorder. In July 2021, the legislature passed SB 755, which amended the act and made it more feasible to implement.

People who provide drug treatment and recovery services and advocates for criminal justice reform wrote Measure 110 in response to the high rate of drug addiction and overdoses in Oregon, and the disproportionate impact of those outcomes on Oregon’s communities of color.

Their goal was to establish a more equitable health-based and effective approach to substance use disorder.