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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2021)
A6 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021 County reports seven new virus cases The Astorian Clatsop County on Monday reported seven new coronavirus cases. The cases include a woman in her 40s living in the southern part of the county. The others live in the northern part of the county and involve a woman in her 30s, a woman in her 50s and two men and two women in their 60s. All seven were recovering at home. The county has recorded 866 cases since the start of the pandemic. According to the county, 20 were hospitalized and eight have died. At Issue: ‘We don’t have a choice’ Continued from Page A1 those calls for service, we would have so much more time on our hands. We could better respond to the emergency calls for service. We could provide a higher police pres- ence in our community and do more community policing, all the things that our community would like us to do. “But, unfortunately, that’s where we spent a lot of our time. And it’s not the best use of our time, but we don’t have a choice, either.” ‘We’re not always the end-all, be-all of solutions’ Astoria Deputy Chief Eric Halv- erson said offi cers get to know the people they frequently encounter and spend a lot of time encouraging people to change their behavior and engage in services. O ver the past several years, there has been more recognition locally that law enforcement is not sepa- rate from mental health and other social services, and there is a deeper understanding of their distinct roles, limitations and legal obligations. However, there is still a miscon- ception that calling the police can solve issues that are often rooted in chronic, complex social problems. “And I think that’s a piece that sometimes the community doesn’t understand, is that a lot of people think that you can call the police and that we can make people do certain things,” Halverson said. “Sometimes we can. A lot of times we can’t. And we’re not always the end-all, be-all of solutions. We’re there to deal with the bad behavior, knowing it’s going to return if we don’t fi nd the deeper solution.” In Oregon and across the United States, there is movement toward having mental health or social ser- vices advocates answer some cri- sis response calls, either with police offi cers or instead of police. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Dem- ocrat, has sought to enhance fed- eral Medicaid funding so states can expand on ideas like CAHOOTS, a crisis intervention program of the White Bird Clinic in Eugene. Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare, the county’s mental health provider, has a mobile crisis team available to help law enforcement, but inad- equate funding and staffi ng has made it a less useful resource for police. The mental health agency also hopes to open a rapid access center in Astoria, providing clinical drop-in services for mental health and substance abuse. A crisis respite center in Warrenton was initially pitched to serve a similar purpose, but the agency has found fi nancial sustainability for the respite center in short-term crisis care and long- term residential services. Beacon Clubhouse, supported by the Clatsop County branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is a membership-based community center for people with mental health issues at the First Baptist Church on Seventh Street. Two new homeless liaisons, hired to work under Clatsop Com- munity Action, will do outreach and help connect vulnerable people to resources. A new county jail at the former North Coast Youth Correctional Facility in Warrenton will provide more space and relieve pressure to release inmates early, which has often been the practice at the jail in Astoria because of overcrowding. Police make arrests for crimes such as assault and issue citations for lesser off enses, but many of the people they frequently respond to do not usually engage in the types of behavior that leads to substantial jail time. Many also do not meet the criteria under state law to be forced into treatment, which means they have to voluntarily agree to seek help. Police, hospital administrators and mental health providers have MORE THAN YOU IMAGINED Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian Geoff Spalding is the Astoria police chief. said that Oregon’s high thresh- old for civil commitment is one of the biggest barriers to helping peo- ple in crisis. A court must fi nd that a person has a mental disorder that poses a danger to themselves or oth- ers or they are unable to provide for basic personal needs like health and safety. “There’s been a lot of talk over this past year about police not being involved in particular things that really shouldn’t be in their wheel- house, like dealing with mental health calls,” Halverson said. “But what we end up seeing is we do reach out for those resources and they do try to provide the resources. But then when the person refuses to accept those resources, it’s back to calling the police.” Over time, offi cers witness a familiar cycle that often ends badly. “And the offi cers are not cold to that,” Halverson said. “You have to develop relationships with these people and you see that they need assistance. And it’s so frustrating because we’re in a business where our job is to try and problem-solve and fi x things. And when you keep on trying to tape it together and you can’t quite get it fi xed over and over and over again, it can be very frustrating for the offi cers who are responding to these things. “And people might not see that in law enforcement, but it does aff ect offi cers that are trying.” Kirk Wintermute, an Asto- ria attorney and president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Clatsop County, called it “a slow rolling crisis. ‘I THINK IF YOU ADDRESS THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM, ULTIMATELY YOU’RE GOING TO ADDRESS THE BEHAVIOR THAT WE’RE SEEING.’ Astoria Police Chief Geoff Spalding “It’s frustrating for everybody in the system to be dealing with. I mean, I know that the police are not mental health fi rst responders and the jail are not mental health pro- viders, but they’re kind of ending up in that situation,” he said. “And I’m not a psychologist and I’m not a psychiatrist, but I end up doing a lot of that work sometimes it seems like, too. “It just seems like there’s just such a failure of the system and it’s landing on these people who are the most vulnerable.” Both Wintermute and Halverson said they are open to the state Leg- islature reviewing the civil commit- ment law. “It should be a stringent process — they’re taking away people’s lib- 3D Theater Lightship Tour Gift Store erty,” Wintermute said. “But we also end up with people in this gap where they might be committable under a more loosened process, but they’re not and so they get released oftentimes without much planning or much support because they’re on the street or they’re mentally ill and they can’t engage.” Wintermute said he has rep- resented people in court who he believes should have been com- mitted or engaged in mental health services. “But because mental health either can’t or doesn’t have the resources to engage them, they end up in the criminal justice system and then they end up in the state hospi- tal,” he said. “But that’s not what that process was built for. And so it’s a round peg in a square hole and it’s not good for anybody, frankly. It’s more expensive. It’s more trauma- tizing for the defendant. It doesn’t work.” ‘What does this person need?’ There are undercurrents of frus- tration and urgency among law enforcement leaders and social ser- vices advocates. Calls tied to cri- sis response have surged during the coronavirus pandemic. Two peo- ple in Clatsop County with mental health and substance abuse issues were killed last year after interac- tions with police. In January, in an announcement meant to draw attention to the lack of mental health treatment options, Gearhart Police Chief Jeff Bow- man said his offi cers would no lon- ger respond to mental health calls unless there is an imminent threat of physical harm. In February, Astoria took a tougher approach to bad behavior at the park at Ninth and Astor streets after tracking 470 calls for service last year. The tipping point came after a stabbing and an attack with a machete. Spalding said it is diffi cult to pin- point exactly what is needed, but he knows there is no single answer. “Especially if you’re talking about dealing with individuals who are homeless, too. I think there’s a lot of people that feel that we need to have more housing and we need a place for somebody to go,” the police chief said. “I’ve heard lots and lots of stories about providing housing for homeless individuals, and they stay there for a night or two, then they’re back on the street again. It doesn’t work for (some of) them. “Even if you provided hous- ing, there’s a lot of them that won’t take avail of that. Some of them won’t work regardless of what you do. There’s certain individuals that are only going to do so much when you get to a certain point,” he said. “That’s why I just think there’s so many diff erent ways to approach it. It’s almost like you have to take each individual, triage them and say, ‘What does this person need?’ “I think if you address the root of the problem, ultimately you’re going to address the behavior that we’re seeing.” Vaccine: Pandemic makes outreach even more diffi cult is refl ected in offi cial data. Clat- sop Community Action has pro- Johnson & Johnson vaccine, vided wrap around services depending on supplies available — meals, laundry, lodging, trans- from the Clatsop County Public portation — to people who had Health Department. to quarantine after they became The Oregonian reported Sun- infected with the coronavirus. day that Oregon will receive far A major outbreak among work- fewer doses of this vaccine than ers at Pacifi c Seafood formed a previously expected — a mere substantial bulk of the people the 7,300 doses from the federal gov- agency served, but the homeless ernment, down from the 61,400 have been a signifi cant portion as well, Matthews said. doses expected. Certainly, the pandemic has Planning for the wellness event only began recently. Orga- made outreach even more diffi - nizers say it will be a sort of cult on the North Coast. Many mini version of the annual Proj- social services and advocacy ect Homeless Connect event held offi ces are operating in a more in Seaside. That event includes limited way while access to pub- a count of the homeless popula- lic libraries — with computers tion and seeks to connect people and free internet — has also been limited . to services. With the well- “We’re trying ‘WE’D LIKE TO ness event, Mat- to do the best thews wants to we can in such a SEE AS MANY make sure peo- short time,” said Viviana Mat- VACCINATIONS ple have access to the informa- thews, the exec- AS WE CAN. tion they need to utive director of a decision Clatsop Com- BUT EVEN ONE make about the vac- munity Action. Though vac- VACCINE IN AN cine , and then have the option cinations are the ARM IS BETTER to receive it. impetus for the The nonprofi t wellness event, THAN ZERO.’ CARE, Inc., a the social ser- Susan Prettyman, the social social services vices agency services program manager for agency in Til- is bringing in a Clatsop Community Action lamook, orga- shower station nized a similar and will provide event at the end to-go meals and bags of hygiene items for attend- of March in that city. Billed as ees. The recovery ally team from “Homeless Connect (Part 2),” it Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare off ered a variety of services and will be on site. Matthews also resources, but the primary pur- hopes to be able to provide assis- pose was to off er the coronavirus tance with Oregon Health Plan vaccine to people in the commu- nity who are homeless or at high enrollment and free haircuts. The agency and its partners risk of becoming homeless. Around 40 people attended have often heard there is a need for a Homeless Connect-style the event — most of them exist- event in the spring, Matthews ing clients of CARE. Of those, 20 were vaccinated, according to added. “We’d like to see as many vac- Peter Starkey, executive direc- cinations as we can,” said Susan tor of CARE. The nonprofi t also Prettyman, the social services provided shelter for two nights program manager for Clatsop to people who received the Community Action, “but even vaccine. Clatsop Community Action is one vaccine in an arm is better in conversation with the Astoria than zero.” Homeless advocates and Warming Center and area hotels researchers believe the coronavi- to provide a safe place for people rus has had a far greater impact to go if they feel ill after receiv- on homeless populations than ing the vaccine. Continued from Page A1 Wentzel: Master gardeners plan to dedicate a row in their own gardens for the community Continued from Page A1 Wentzel has a background in helping communities bet- ter understand and engage with farming and food resources. An avid gardener herself, she fi rmly believes you do not need to spend a lot of money or own property to grow a garden that can supply you with some basic food. A stint in the Peace Corps took her to Paraguay, where she worked with subsistence farmers and looked at ways to support the smallest scale farmers with the fewest resources, she said. It was an experience that motivated her to return to school to learn more, but also, later, to look at ways to engage directly with her own farming and growing communi- ties in the Pacifi c Northwest. She moved to the coast two years ago to work for the Til- lamook-based nonprofi t Food Roots and joined the e xtension s ervice in December. The coronavirus pandemic shut down many volunteer and educational opportunities last year for the master gardener pro- gram she now oversees, and it continues to hamper activities this year. The program’s biggest event — the annual plant sale — will be held in May , though at a dif- ferent location than usual. T he master gardening training itself is not happening this year, a fi rst for the program since it was founded in the 1980s. But Wentzel sees the lull as an opportunity. “It’s giving us some time to think about the programs we off er and the ways we’re engag- OPEN DAILY 9:30 TO 5:00 • 1792 Marine Drive, Astoria 503.325.2323 • www.crmm.org ing in the communities, to think about who we are and who we are not including in our pro- gram,” she said. This year, the master garden- ers are planning to dedicate a row in their own gardens for the community. The food grown in these rows will go to local food pantries, where fresh produce is one of the hardest things to keep in stock. It is an exciting plan after a year where food insecurities have only been further high- lighted and exacerbated, Went- zel said. For would-be gardeners — and there are many after the pandemic gave people both more time and inclination to try to grow their own food — Wentzel hopes to begin build- ing more coast-specifi c garden- ing resources. The North Coast climate is really particular, she said, and contains many micro- climates. While you can easily grow corn in Jewell, it may be more diffi cult on Astoria’s S outh S lope, for example. The coast also, in general, still sees dramatic nighttime tempera- ture drops well into spring. So, Wentzel suggests, try not to get fooled by the occasional warm spring day that might entice you to start planting seeds earlier than you should. Closer to Memorial Day is often a bet- ter time to start a coastal garden, she said. And, if you’re still not sure what will grow best in your area, spy on your neighbors. “If someone has a nice garden down the street, take a peek,” she said. “It’s a clue.”