Deschutes County set to create Stabilization Center
A new facility for people dealing with substance abuse problems and mental health issues is in the works for Deschutes County.
County officials have been working for quite some time to get a facility in place that’s an alternative to jail or the emergency room, to get people help when they’re dealing with a crisis.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Deschutes County Health Services are coming together to create the stabilization center, in order to get the proper help to those in need.
According to Sheriff Shane Nelson, the center will be a place that will fill the gap, giving people a place to go when they’re dealing with substance abuse problems or mental health issues, and jail might not be the best place for them to go at the time.
“When a law enforcement officer is out on a call and comes across a citizen who is in a vulnerable state, it may not rise to the level of needing to go through the criminal justice system,” Nelson said Tuesday. “This is a facility that is an alternative to the emergency room and jail.”
The sheriff’s office and county health agency are working to create a place where individuals can get help and create a plan for long-term care options.
They hope it will fill a gap that’s been identified by police.
Rick Treleaven, the executive director of Best Care Treatment, said there is a need for this sort of center in Deschutes County, and it’s a much better option for officers dealing with people going through a crisis.
Treleaven said the center can fill the gap and is a better solution than sending people to jail or to the hospital.
“Both of those are really catch-and-release environments, and if we can have this other environment where it’s more engaging, then there is much more hope that we can change the path that these people are on,” Treleaven said.
He said he believes that if this type of resource is available for people they might be able to get some help before they do serious harm to themselves.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Deschutes County Health Services have just over $2 million in place to get the center off the ground and operational.
Now they are turning to cities in the county to help with more funding, in order to run the facility around the clock.
“Addiction and mental illness do not know a time clock,” Nelson said. “So there are going to be people in need 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We want to have this facility open and available to those” in need.
The exact location of the facility is still unknown, as the agencies are waiting for approval of permits, but the sheriff’s office said it will be located on the Deschutes County Public Safety Campus.
