A3
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2021
Clinic: Addresses crises that demand swift attention
Continued from Page A1
McKee said.
A low-barrier drop-in
center
Clatsop
Behavioral
Healthcare , Clatsop Coun-
ty’s mental health and sub-
stance abuse treatment con-
tractor, moved into the
building just as the pan-
demic began. The site was
originally planned for adult
and child-and-family outpa-
tient services, but those got
moved to the agency’s loca-
tion at Exchange and 12th
streets.
The clinic began as a
response to something the
agency began noticing at
that location: People would
walk in asking for help in
moments of crisis — not the
kind of crisis that requires
hospital care or intervention
from the agency’s mobile
crisis unit, but that demands
swift attention — from
panic attacks and hous-
ing needs, to psychosis and
intense suicidal thoughts.
Normally, such peo-
ple would have to contact
the agency and schedule an
appointment for a few days
out. But for someone with
pressing needs, a few days
is a long time. By then, the
moment may have passed.
And some people’s control
over their lives is so tenuous
that keeping appointments,
even in the near future, is
too much to handle.
For people using heroin
or other opiates and want to
quit, “you gotta be there at
the right time,” Negrea said,
“so when somebody comes
in, you gotta jump on that,
when they’re motivated.”
The Rapid Access Clinic
has therapists and counsel-
ors, clinicians for treating
addiction to drugs and alco-
hol, staff who have experi-
enced addiction themselves
and now “walk alongside”
clients to help them through
their recovery, McKee said.
The goal is to get people
into ongoing care.
Amy Baker, the exec-
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
The reset room is decorated in shades of blue and has a tray with balls, cards and other activities.
utive director of Clatsop
Behavioral Healthcare, said
at a c ounty Board of Com-
missioners work session in
October that many people
who seek treatment often
stop coming after one or
two sessions .
She hopes, with the
clinic, that the agency will
be able to retain people lon-
ger . “Usually people show
up to see us when they’re
in crisis. There are very few
people who are like, ‘Hey,
you know what? I think
I’m gonna start counsel-
ing today because that’d be
good for me!’ Nobody does
that,” Baker said. “They get
to the end of their rope and
they push themselves, or
somebody pushes them, and
they come fi nd us … Our
job is to hold onto them as
long as possible so that they
can actually experience
some improvement.”
The clinic has a Genoa
Healthcare pharmacy and,
within weeks, will start fi ll-
ing clients’ mental health
medications.
The clinic dispenses
Suboxone, a medication for
people — whether active
opioid users looking to quit
or ex-users trying to stay
clean — to manage their
cravings and withdrawal
symptoms.
The staff hands out tents
and sleeping bags — more
than 60 pairs of these since
the weather turned cold
— backpacks packed with
hygiene supplies, feminine
products, hats and scarves,
gloves and socks.
And when people come
needing housing or a meal,
the staff refers them to
places like Clatsop Com-
munity Action and Filling
Empty Bellies.
McKee estimates that
about 300 people have
received services at the
clinic since July.
Negrea said. “It’s like, ‘All
right, cool, we’ll be here.
We’ve gotten started, so …
whenever you’re ready.’”
Negrea, who is trained
in both mental health and
addiction treatment, has
written up treatment plans
in the reset room, a quiet,
carpeted space that contains
a couch with fuzzy green
pillows, a small collec-
tion of toys (playing cards,
Koosh b alls, Rubik’s Cube,
etc.) and a painting that
reads “relax.” The room is
often used to calm people
who are agitated, intoxi-
cated or having a psychotic
episode.
For the apprehensive,
verbally challenged home-
less man, Negrea sat, clip-
board in hand, on the back
steps with him, the man’s
shopping cart beside them.
Some people will drop
in once or twice; others will
show up a couple of times,
then turn up a month later.
“Not rushing them, just
being here,” Negrea said.
A handful — including the
homeless man — have, so
far, stayed in treatment.
The clinic has not
actively promoted itself, but
word is spreading .
A homeless middle-aged
woman who camps near
the older man came in. She
mentioned that she had
seen how well her friend
had been doing lately com-
pared to where he had been.
She said she fi gured that, if
he’s getting better, the clinic
can’t be a bad place.
She has started getting
mental health treatment
there, as well.
‘No judgment’
At fi rst, some clients will
often come in, get nervous,
maybe announce that they
have something else to do or
that they’ll come back later.
“But then folks come back,
and there’s no judg ment,”
,
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