State leaders changed the law to allow for more police authority.
In this Jan. 24, 2024 file photo, a pedestrian walks past an encampment of tents after crossing Hoyt Street in Portland, Ore.Three years ago, Oregon decriminalized small amounts of illicit drugs, from fentanyl to methamphetamine to crack.
"What we know is that putting people in jail has never been an effective way to treat people with substance use disorder," Haven Wheelock, the executive director of the Portland-based social services nonprofit Outside In, told ABC News. "So you call that number, do a health screening my understanding is they'll also pay the ticket for you," he said.
Ricco Mejia, an outreach leader with the Behavioral Health Addiction Association of Oregon, one of the recipients of the state's $264 million in grants, recently met with a homeless couple who were sleeping on the street and offered them a bed, new clothes and detox and outpatient treatment."I believe we made a good human connection," Meija, who himself is in recovery for drug addiction, told ABC News when asked if the couple's rejection was discouraging.
"We fundamentally haven't figured out how to have the behavioral health system and the criminal justice system really talk to each other," she said.Oregon didn't begin dispersing funds until May 2022.
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