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Michael Dunne: I'm Michael Dunne. CAHOOTS was a nationally recognized mental health crisis program that began in Eugene and became a model for programs around the United States. So it was strange, and a bit sad, that the service was discontinued in the city where it started. Due to a lot of public outcry, the Eugene City Council has been working to replace the service, if not exactly, then at least in some similar fashion. Today on the show, you'll hear from our reporter about the next step in bringing back mobile crisis services to Eugene, where it all began. Then, in the second part of the show, another of our reporters will give us the latest on updates and expansion plans at the Eugene airport, including new infrastructure at Concourse A. KLCC's Nathan Wilk, thanks so much for coming in and talking with us.
Nathan Wilk: Thanks so much, Michael.
Dunne: You have been following the story of CAHOOTS for quite some time. A year ago, it went away. Just give folks a 30,000-foot view of what CAHOOTS was and what happened to it.
Wilk: CAHOOTS was a mobile crisis intervention service. Essentially, it responded sometimes in addition to, and sometimes in place of, law enforcement, helping people who were suicidal or homeless, or having some mental health or substance abuse crisis. The program shut down in Eugene and stopped operating last April because of budgetary issues. They said they had to shrink their hours, and the city of Eugene said this was no longer the contract they had agreed upon in terms of operating hours. Since then, the program has been gone in Eugene, and there has been a lot of community uproar from many who benefited from the service and have wanted it back.
Dunne: The city, in some way or form, wanted to do something, and to a degree they did. Talk about what they've done to try to replace, or at least augment, what CAHOOTS used to do.
Wilk: There are two things to note. First, there was already a program providing somewhat comparable services called Lane County Mobile Crisis, which runs through the county. That serves people in acute crises who need someone to respond and help them. But what the city of Eugene identified, through a gaps analysis, was that some of the other functions of CAHOOTS, such as conducting general welfare checks, helping people on the street with transportation needs or getting identification, were falling to law enforcement and emergency officials. So the city put out a request for proposals for something along those lines. That's the news today.
Dunne: They did select an entity. Who did they select?
Wilk: They selected Ideal Option, which is a company that operates in several states and is already doing some things in Eugene. It works with Lane County's jail deflection program, and it also partnered earlier this year with the Eugene Police Department to place peer navigators downtown, which is essentially similar to what is being created here. So a comparable service run by them is already operating in downtown Eugene, and some residents may have already seen those workers in the area.
Dunne: So not exactly what CAHOOTS did before the contract was removed?
Wilk: Not exactly. With this new service, outreach workers will be sent to other high-volume areas outside of downtown Eugene, such as the Whiteaker neighborhood and Highway 99 in west Eugene. They'll help people who aren't in active crises navigate to services, and then they'll do follow-up care to check in: Did that work for you? Did we get you where you needed to go? What else can we do? That outreach and community support work is the gap city officials identified.
Dunne: Do we have an idea of how much it's going to cost?
Wilk: This is a one-year pilot program, and they've set aside $500,000 for it. I spoke with Mike Caven, the Eugene-Springfield fire chief, and he said this is also about figuring out whether there are still gaps, what's needed and what a second phase might look like as the yearlong program runs.
Dunne: You talked to Chief Caven. From what he said, or from what you've been able to glean, is this kind of a release valve for law enforcement or emergency medical services?
Wilk: That's the hope. The idea is that the Eugene Police Department and fire officials are able to respond to other calls in the community while these outreach workers form relationships with individuals who need these services and help them navigate from a peer perspective. So, yes, certainly.
Dunne: So Nathan, we have a winning bid. What put them over the top? Why did the council select this group?
Wilk: Chief Caven said this proposal really matched what the city was specifically looking for. There was another competitor that had gathered a lot of momentum: Willamette Valley Crisis Care, which was made up of former, and at founding, current CAHOOTS members who wanted to recreate that service and carry on that institutional knowledge. But Chief Caven said that proposal was anchored in how the system used to operate. The city was taking into account that Lane County Mobile Crisis is already providing something for those in acute crisis, and they were looking to fill a specific gap. The proposal from Willamette Valley Crisis Care had a larger scope and would have also provided some crisis care services, so it didn't match the specific need the city was trying to fill.
Dunne: Did you get a chance to talk to the losing bid? What did they say?
Wilk: They said they were not surprised, based on the request for proposals that went out, but they were disappointed. I spoke to someone from Friends of Alternative Response, who has been pushing for a return to CAHOOTS. They said there are limits on this contract in terms of location and boundaries that are disappointing, and that it still leaves some gaps and doesn't provide basic medical services like CAHOOTS used to. Willamette Valley Crisis Care told me they're regrouping and looking at how they may serve the community, and Friends of Alternative Response says they're still pushing for a return to full services like CAHOOTS.
Dunne: Let's switch gears, because you also covered a high-profile drunk driving case in which someone was killed. You covered the verdict and the sentencing. Just get us up to speed on where that stands and how it ended.
Wilk: The defendant in that case, Scott Stolarczyk, was convicted in the death of Sharon Schuman and was sentenced Wednesday to six years and three months in prison, plus three years of supervised release. He will also have his driver's license permanently revoked. He hit Schuman with his car while she was running on the Amazon Path in south Eugene. Schuman was a musician, an author and a University of Oregon professor, and she was very well known in the community. Stolarczyk spoke at the sentencing and expressed remorse. He said he took full responsibility and hoped to be a better person. Schuman's daughter, Rebecca Schuman, also spoke and said he destroyed two families, his and theirs, but that she was compelled toward mercy and hoped he could make some amends.
Dunne: Very sad story. Nathan, I really appreciate your coverage of these stories and so much more. Nathan Wilk, reporter for KLCC, thanks so much.
Wilk: Thanks so much, Michael.
Dunne: Let's find out what improvements are being made at the Eugene airport. KLCC's Zac Ziegler, thanks so much for coming in and talking with us.
Zac Ziegler: Yeah, no problem.
Dunne: I know you did a story about the airport and some funding that came through. Tell us what's going on at EUG.
Ziegler: There's going to be some work eventually in the Concourse A area. They're getting money to expand that area, which anyone who's been in a rush will be glad to hear because things can get tight. There's also renovation money for bathroom updates and other infrastructure improvements throughout, including HVAC systems.
Dunne: A lot of infrastructure work. This is part of a larger plan, right?
Ziegler: There are quite a few plans. Eight projects are already funded for expansion: work on the concourse, outbound baggage, taxi, runway and terminal apron improvements, as well as parking lot changes, which will be welcome for anyone who has flown during the holidays. And then there are the big, long-term projects that have been discussed but aren't yet funded.
Dunne: That's kind of the linchpin, isn't it? They have ideas and nice drawings, but they still need a lot more money.
Ziegler: Yes. Concourse C is the big talked-about project. They estimate that will cost around $178 million, plus additional expansion of baggage claim and ticket counters needed to accommodate that extra concourse. The airport does feel it needs this, though, because they say the facilities are the limiting factor on growth right now, and growth has been pretty explosive. From 2011 to 2022, they saw a doubling of passengers.
Dunne: Wow. So for this first phase that's starting now, do they have an idea of when it might be completed?
Ziegler: The goal is 12 to 18 months. They have broken ground on one area where the expansion will be, but they have to build up to reach the height of the existing concourse. If you've sat in there, you know it's elevated off the ground because you're boarding a plane from it. So 12 to 18 months is what they're hoping for.
Dunne: Has Concourse A really been pushing the envelope, busting at the seams to some degree?
Ziegler: Definitely. One of the bigger issues is that the concourse was designed for regional jets seating about 74 people, but they're now getting jets flying longer distances and holding more people. The ones coming in hold 120 to 150 people. So it can be tough to accommodate that many passengers at those six gates with the larger planes.
Dunne: I'm wondering, since the government shutdown and its impact on TSA, have things been pretty smooth at the airport the last few weeks?
Ziegler: I actually did a story about that a couple of weeks ago. Eugene was not impacted too much. The TSA agents kept going, and they didn't see the long lines that appeared at larger airports like Denver. But to help get through that period, the airport was accepting donations of nonperishable foods and gift cards to support TSA agents so they didn't have to leave their posts to work somewhere else that was actually paying them.
Dunne: Did airport Director Catherine Stevens have any sense of whether they're anticipating a busy summer season, given inflation and fuel prices?
Ziegler: There always seems to be strong demand for those flights, and it looks like this summer will be no different. I've been looking at my own summer travel plans, and tickets aren't getting any cheaper, which is usually a sign of how airlines feel about demand. I'd fully anticipate a busy season, especially knowing that if the limiting factor is size and someone decides not to fly, someone else will step right in behind them.
Dunne: Eugene airport isn't the sleepy little airport it perhaps once was. I imagine a lot of people are realizing they don't have to drive two hours to Portland.
Ziegler: Yes. And one thing I think about when booking flights is whether I want to fight traffic all the way through Portland to the north side of town. There's also the added advantage now of a free bus that serves several towns with a stop right by the airport. So if you're in Corvallis or somewhere else outside of Eugene, it's easier to get to EUG and catch your flight. When you're weighing that against the drive to Portland, flying out of Eugene, even at a slightly higher fare, can look a lot more appealing.
Dunne: I know I would. Zac Ziegler, reporter for KLCC, really appreciate your time.
Ziegler: Thanks so much.
Dunne: That's the show for today. All episodes of Oregon on the Record are available as a podcast at KLCC.org. Monday on the show, you'll hear from the new acting superintendent for Springfield Public Schools and learn how she plans to manage this troubled district. I'm Michael Dunne, host of Oregon on the Record. Thanks for listening.
