A year after CAHOOTS shut down its mobile crisis services in Eugene, the city has picked a partner to run a new peer navigation program.
Eugene announced Monday that it had selected Ideal Option for a one-year pilot to help fill gaps in some services that CAHOOTS used to provide, like welfare checks and non-emergency transportation.
Ideal Option already works with Lane County’s jail deflection program. And in January, it partnered with the Eugene Police Department to staff peer navigators downtown.
The company’s new service will send outreach workers to other high-volume areas like the Whiteaker, Highway 99, and west Eugene.
Eugene-Springfield Fire Chief Mike Caven said the navigators will work with people who aren’t in active crises, but are facing homelessness or addiction and need help finding services.
“It is ‘What's got you here? How come somebody felt it necessary to call 911 for you?’” Caven told KLCC. “‘Let's get you your ID so you can get to healthcare, so you can get to some type of treatment situation.’”
Caven said navigators will also follow up with clients to see if those services were the right fit. He said these workers will be looped into 911 dispatch, unlike the Ideal Option navigators in downtown.
According to Caven, the service will launch within two months. He said its hours aren’t determined yet, but they’re looking at peak times from the late morning to early evening.
“Our goal with this is to start to target those most vulnerable,” said Caven, “and get the feedback from the field and see what is needed in a potential next phase.”
The city says $500,000 has been allocated for the one-year pilot program.
Competition
Ideal Option’s proposal was chosen over one from Willamette Valley Crisis Care, a nonprofit led by former White Bird Clinic employees that have said they want to recreate CAHOOTS-like services.
In a statement by email Wednesday, WVCC said its leadership was disappointed, but not surprised. It said its proposal would have provided crisis response services seven days a week, as well as follow-up care and case management.
"The city prioritized a law enforcement-based deflection service that we hope can meet important community needs," the nonprofit wrote. "At WVCC, we are regrouping and preparing to vision a new role in the community safety ecosystem."
Caven said when considering the proposals, the city took into account that Eugene now has Lane County’s mobile crisis services, which can respond to people in acute distress in ways CAHOOTS used to.
“Willamette Valley Crisis Care put forward a very thoughtful proposal anchored in how the system used to operate,” said Caven. “When you score a Request for Proposal, it's based on specifically what you're asking for.”
Jacob Trewe, the volunteer coordinator for Friends of Alternative Response, said he was saddened by the decision. He said Ideal Option's version is very location bound and doesn’t provide basic medical services.
“If folks are expecting CAHOOTS-style service to resume here in Eugene, they will not be seeing that in the immediate future,” he said.
Trewe said advocates are still pushing for a return to full services.
“Hopefully, the city will recognize that the need that they identified in the gaps analysis is still there,” he said, “and they will move forward with some other project to be able to address the needs of the community.”
Ideal Option said its Director of Community Development wasn’t immediately available for an interview.
