Council votes to continue Portland Street Response pilot program May 13 2021
The 3-to-2 vote takes place during the May 13 hearing on Mayor Ted Wheeler s proposed budget for the next fiscal year.
The City Council voted to continue the Portland Street Response pilot program for at least another six months before expanding it citywide on Thursday, May 13.
The 3-to-2 vote happened during the hearing on Mayor Ted Wheeler s proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts on July 1. The pilot program of the non-police response to 911 calls started in Lents in February.
Wheeler had proposed around $1 million to fully fund the pilot program and additional funds to contract with Portland State University to evaluate it. His proposal was supposed by commissioners Mingus Mapps and Dan Ryan.
$26M plan for Behavioral Health Center in Portland OK d May 13 2021
The Multnomah County Commission approved plans for a new 42-bed mental health shelter, as well as 20 beds of transitional housing.
More than 60 people suffering from mental health issues will have space to recover off the streets when a new center for behavioral health opens in downtown Portland in fall 2022, leaders say.
The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners tied a bow on the blueprints for the 24,000-square-foot facility, which now has an approved price tag of $26 million, during a virtual meeting on Thursday, May 13. The Behavioral Health Resource Center is not a crisis center, said Julie Dodge, who was appointed the county s interim behavioral health director in January. It s the place where we can encourage someone to go to get the next step of resources, after stabilization at an emergency room.
Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty says the pilot has been successful enough for a wider rollout.
As the City Council prepares to vote on the Mayor s Proposed Budget this week, a citywide expansion of Portland Street Response hangs in the balance. The city has two choices: it can either run a pilot for 12 months and … stop. Then, after further analysis, the City Council could decide how and if it wants to roll out citywide delaying citywide expansion until 2023-24.
Or, the city of Portland can run a 12-month pilot and simultaneously adapt and ready the program for citywide launch beginning in March 2022, as has been slowly, methodically and smartly planned all along.