Clackamas County to spend $3.5M for recovery, treatment campus

Clackamas County commissioners on Thursday unanimously approved spending $3.5 million to purchase the former Clackamas County Elementary School building and site from the North Clackamas Parks and Rec District to build a one-stop center for substance use disorder recovery and treatment.

"It is going to be top-notch, like nothing this region has ever seen, that will begin to meet the care continuum of clients that struggle with substance abuse homelessness no matter where they are at with multiple entry points to really address this crisis that we all see every day," said Commissioner Ben West during an interview with various media outlets on Thursday.

The county aims to eventually have all of the following services available at the campus:

Detox (withdrawal management)
Stabilization
Outpatient services (including mental health treatment)
Residential treatment beds
Medication-assisted treatment
Peer support from those in recovery
Job skill development
Transitional housing
Medical and dental care (may be provided on site or off-site)

The funds to purchase the property come from the Metro Supportive Housing Services tax, Community Mental Health Program grants and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The county will not be using any of its general funds for the purchase or development of the property. County officials say funds to build out the campus will come from a combination of Supportive Housing Services funds, the private sector, and state, federal and local funding.

Once the county partners with a slew of organizations that will run these operations, the cost to operate the facilities is expected to be covered by Medicaid waivers and state behavioral health funds. West estimates the county could get through permitting and secure partners in time to break ground as early as next year.

He acknowledged the goals are lofty but said he believes Clackamas County’s unique way of operating will circumvent the systemic failures that he believes have made the state one of the worst off when it comes to access to treatment and high overdose numbers.

"Most of the news is of the disfunction and the lack of ability to fully address the crisis before us. There are a lot of news articles across not just Oregon but nationally and globally about how we are floundering and not rising to the occasion to meet the crisis head on. Much of the efforts seem to be more ideological than affective," he said during the Board of Commissioners meeting on Thursday. "In Clackamas County we were purposeful in implementing a recovery-oriented system of care that is much different than the rest of the state, and it is by no accident that we have by far the best outcomes."

https://katu.com/news/local/clackamas-county-to-spend-35m-for-recovery-treatment-campus
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Author: KATU News
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News post in at: October 19, 2024, 3:03 am.

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