PORTLAND, Ore. — Since Sunday, four people in Portland have been connected to recovery services under a program called "deflection," including two during a police mission on Sunday, the first day that possession of hard drugs became a crime again in Oregon.
During the mission conducted Sunday by Portland Police Bureau (PPB) Central Bike Squad officers, four people who didn't qualify for deflection were arrested. One was cited. But two people contacted by officers Sunday did qualify for deflection and accepted services instead of going to jail.
According to Portland police, if officers catch someone in possession of hard drugs, they will put them in handcuffs and check to see if they have any outstanding warrants or immediate medical issues, among other things. If those checks are clear, drug users may be offered deflection, the option of treatment over jail.
Tony Vezina, executive director for 4D Recovery, one of the outreach groups Portland police calls to help get someone into recovery, said police have called them four times since Sunday.
"It's been going a little slower than we anticipated," Vezina said.
Of the four calls Vezina's team received from police, one person went straight to detox. Two others were given numbers to call because beds weren't immediately available. The other was Dominique, who's been living homeless in Portland's Old Town and struggled with a fentanyl addiction.
"I think it's awesome that they're caring and that they take the time to talk to us," she said.
Vezina said he's familiar with Dominique from when he went to treatment about 12 years ago.
"So that was cool seeing her," he said. "We're just going to work with her to get her back fully engaged in the recovery process."
Currently, when someone qualifies for deflection, officers have to wait up to 30 minutes for an outreach worker to meet them since there isn't a place right now to take people caught carrying hard drugs. If an outreach worker can't get there in time, the people go to jail.
But starting next month, that's going to change when Multnomah County opens its deflection center on the Central Eastside.
"Overall, it's like, hasn't been a huge impact with a ton of people," Vezina said. "But what I'm seeing, which I've never seen before, is a really forced conversation between the public safety and the healthcare system."
Moving forward due to short staffing the option of "deflection" will only be available to people caught with possession Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
"I didn't know addiction followed those hours," a woman living on the streets of Portland with methamphetamine addiction told KGW last week.
Multnomah County is working to hire more staff so the program can be 24/7. They are expected to give an update later this week.