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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2019)
Wednesday, February 20, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 11 Program to address mental health crisis comes to county By Sue Stafford Correspondent Stepping Up is a national initiative being established in Deschutes County in an attempt to reduce the number of people with severe mental health issues in the jail and emergency rooms. Deschutes County Crisis Services Manager Collette Harris and Dr. George Conway, Deschutes County Health Services Department director, gave a presentation to last week9s joint meeting of Sisters City Council and the County Commissioners about the Stepping Up pro- gram, including the establish- ment of a Stabilization Center (DCHS lead) and a Sobering Center (DCSO lead). In 2018, the Deschutes County Stabilization Center Project became a key ele- ment of a County project to develop and implement a Public Safety Campus Master Plan. The project aimed to identify near-term, mid-term, and long-term phases of development to the campus over a period of up to 20 years. Money for the program is coming from several grants. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) grant will provide $330,000 each year for five years ($1.65 million total). The SAMSHA grant is to sup- port a law enforcement and behavioral health partner- ship for early diversion. The partnership is between the Bend Police Department and Deschutes County Health Services including the devel- opment of a co-responder program for the City of Bend. The co-responder pro- gram includes embedding a health services clini- cian (Abby Lester) into the Community Response Team (CRT). A peer support spe- cialist (Jessica McEwen) will do follow-up, outreach, and engage with those the co-responder team has had contact with to increase enrollment and engagement in behavioral health treat- ment. An administrative support specialist (Theresa Simpson) will be responsible for grant compliance and reporting. The goals of the Early Diversion Program include: diverting more individu- als with serious mental ill- ness (SMI) and co-occurring disorders (COD) from the criminal justice system prior to arrest or booking; increas- ing the number of individu- als with SMI/COD enrolled in community-based ser- vices; reducing the num- ber of individuals going to the emergency department for mental-health crises; and providing a place for law enforcement to quickly bring someone in a mental- health crisis so law enforce- ment can get back to their duties. The data that supported the need for the early detec- tion program included: 383 contacts for the CRT in 2017; 465 referrals to the Mobile Crisis Assessment Team (MCAT); and a 172 percent increase of alleg- edly mentally ill (AMI) calls from 664 in 2010 to 1809 in 2017. The second grant is from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to fund a Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program that will add psychiatric and case management services in the amount of $700,000. This will be a partnership between Deschutes County Health and the Deschutes County Sheriff9s Office. The goal is to increase public safety and reduce recidivism among high-risk people with mental illness and co-occurring disorders. The funding, $233,000 for each of three years ($700,000 total) is intended to support a stabilization center. The program will be run out of the former probation and parole building near the Deschutes County Sheriff9s Office and adult jail, on the Public Safety campus. Remodeling of the building will cost $1,512,500. Another $268,300 for furniture, fix- tures, and security equipment will be covered by a certified community behavioral health clinic expansion grant. There will be a full- time case manager/certified alcohol and drug counselor (CADC) to focus on those with co-occurring mental ill- ness and substance-use dis- orders. The center will be provided an hour a day of telepsych services five days a week. They will also part- ner with OHSU for program evaluation and development of an Implementation Guide. Both grants are aimed at reducing the number of indi- viduals with mental illness in jail, focusing on pre-arrest and booking. The BJA grant focus is specifically aimed at enhancing services provided at the stabilization center. The center will have a soft opening by the end of 2019. To begin, the center will be open during day- light hours, with plans to be open 24/7. It will operate as a voluntary facility to make it more appealing to clients. The purpose of the stabiliza- tion center is to help clients avoid confinement, to see the center as a place for help, not punishment. It will be the first stop rather than the hos- pital emergency room or jail. Studies have shown with this type of intervention, there is a 60 percent reduction in recidivism. The program offers peer- to-peer counseling with people who have experi- enced mental illness and can understand and relate to the client. The SAMSHA grant increased the number of peers on the crisis team. New mobile crisis fund- ing from the Oregon Health Authority also allowed for hiring another peer. All officers will receive Crisis Intervention Team training. There’s something special about gathering around a GLOWING FIRE! We have many fire pits to choose from! DINING & TAKE-OUT MEATS • CHEESES • EATERY • DRINKERY 110 S. SPRUCE ST. | 541-719-1186 OPEN EVERY DAY 9 AM TO 7 PM until midnight every night Menu at SistersSaloon.net 541-549-RIBS 190 E. Cascade Ave. “Your Local Welding Shop” CCB# 87640 541-549-9280 | 207 W. Sisters Park Dr. | PonderosaForge.com Frontiers in Science PRESENTED BY THE SISTERS SCIENCE CLUB Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence: Science takes on fake news Dr. Daniel Lowd, University of Oregon, Computer and Information Science Can you always spot “fake news?” Human fact-checkers simply cannot stem the flood tides of misinformation on the Internet. Fake news is linked to vaccine panics, genocide in Myanmar, terrorist attacks in the U.S., & the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. Can science help? Maybe. Artificial intelligence programs can find patterns in text and graphs, but AI itself can be fooled. Dr. Lowd will help us understand not only the present dangers of fake news but also the future challenges in recognizing fake images and videos. Tuesday, February 26 The Belfry, 302 E. Main Ave., Sisters Lecture at 7 p.m. with introduction by Jim Cornelius DOOR BUSTER SALE Storewide Sale 20 to 75% off! Some exclusions apply. Doors open at 6 p.m. for community hour, food & drink! Happening Now! Admission: $5; Teachers and Students - FREE Town Square • 541-549-5648 Save the Date: Tuesday, March 26 “Dr. Larry Price: “The Big Picture: Photographing the Black Hole at the Center of the Galaxy” (Across from Sisters Saloon) BRING YOUR CURIOSITY AND AN APPETITE FOR KNOWLEDGE! nugget_2019-02-20.indd 11 2/19/19 10:56 AM