PORTLAND, Ore. — On the corner of Southeast Pine Street and 11th Avenue in Portland’s Central Eastside sits a preschool, where David Watnick’s 1-year-old will start in September the same time Multnomah County will open its deflection center for people caught in possession of small amounts of hard drugs who choose treatment over jail time. The deflection center is about a block away from the school.
“It's basically a funnel of individuals using drugs right into the neighborhood,” Watnick said.
In late developments from the county’s deflection team Friday afternoon, KGW was told people stopped by law enforcement are only eligible for the deflection program if they possess illegal drugs for personal use, are not committing any other crimes and have not failed the county’s deflection program within the prior 30 days.
Failing the deflection program means not completing a screening and engaging with a referral to services — requirements for successfully completing the deflection program. It is unclear what “engaging” in referral services means. If someone who chooses deflection but does not complete these steps and is caught by law enforcement again within 30 days of initially choosing deflection, the county leadership team says they will be arrested and charged.
This all comes as a result of when possession of drugs, like fentanyl, will be a crime again in Oregon. Counties had the option of opening deflection centers as a bridge to treatment instead of jail.
However, the location of the planned deflection center being one block away from a preschool is still proving to be problematic among some parents.
“It's a controversial development in the community, to say the least, and it was developed with no community input and kind of sprung on us at the 11th hour. Total surprise,” Watnick said. He was among more than a dozen parents who testified in front of county commissioners expressing their concerns earlier this week.
Commissioners Sharon Meieran and Julia Brim-Edwards voted against the deflection center plan Thursday, despite it passing 3-2.
“It was painful because the parents came in desperate for answers, and all they got were more questions and more deflection of responsibility,” Meieran said Friday.
“There's no consideration of the neighborhood and how that might be impacted… How can you open a center 400 feet from a daycare without a draft plan of how it's run?” said Chelsea Parrett, who has children at the preschool.
However, it's no secret the area surrounding the daycare has been impacted by the homeless and addiction crisis for years. When KGW was there Friday, there were tents and RVs on the surrounding streets.
Parents feel that once the deflection center moves in, it could make things even worse.
“I get where they're coming from (but) at the same time, they got to understand there's a bunch of homeless people that live around here too that also do drugs; there's crime," said Heidi, who is homeless and addicted to fentanyl. She just moved her tent behind the deflection center and near the preschool.
"If that's going to help the people who are on drugs and do crime, then let it be there. That's how I see it, but at the same time, I understand because those are kids,” she concluded.
Multnomah County leadership sent KGW the following statement Friday:
“Multnomah County is committed to being a good neighbor. That includes ensuring a peaceful and orderly environment around the Deflection Center and establishing clear expectations and lines of communication. Since signing the lease, the County has met directly with the owner of the nearby preschool, parents, and neighbors to hear their concerns. The County has also committed to providing on-site security during all hours of operation and offering transportation to individuals brought to the Center. The owner of the preschool will sit on the committee tasked with drafting the Deflection Center’s Good Neighbor Agreement.”
But Meieran was less optimistic.
“The only deflection that the county seems able to do is deflection of responsibility,” she said.
“None of us want to have a mess of another program where the New York Times and everywhere in the country say, 'Look at Portland; look at where they're messing up,'" Parrett said. "We want to do it right. We want this to be open. We just want to know how it works, how our kids are safe, how can we participate — and right now, it's closed-door, our leadership team is working on that, and that's it.”
Some parents are calling for the county to pause the deflection program, while others are calling for them to cancel it altogether. There are even talks of potential litigation if they don’t.