Friday, July 9, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
Wyden, local offi cials discuss crisis response
lem in our city.”
Sheriff Matt Phillips said
that because there are people
who are unwilling to engage
in services, some end up in
the criminal justice system.
“And that’s a chance, I
think, when we can maybe
have an intervention,” the
sheriff said. “We need to
have resources to provide
treatment to someone while
they’re in custody. And cer-
tainly we’re having chal-
lenges with that process.”
Several people pointed to
drug and alcohol abuse and
the housing crunch as prob-
lems exacerbating the issue.
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Federal money may help
Clatsop County expand
mobile crisis response.
Clatsop
Behavioral
Healthcare, the county’s
mental health provider, has a
mobile crisis team available
to help law enforcement
handle crisis calls, but inad-
equate funding and staff -
ing has kept it from being a
more eff ective resource for
police.
The county plans to
invest some of the $7.8 mil-
lion it is projected to receive
in American Rescue Plan
Act money to hire more
clinicians.
Help may also become
available through legisla-
tion led by U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden. The Oregon Dem-
ocrat has pushed to enhance
federal Medicaid fund-
ing so states can expand on
ideas like CAHOOTS, a cri-
sis intervention program
of the White Bird Clinic in
Eugene.
“Under this approach,
when there’s a 911 call deal-
ing with someone experi-
encing a mental health crisis,
CAHOOTS sends trained
health professionals as fi rst
responders instead of just
police,” Wyden, the chair-
man of the Senate Finance
Committee, said in a state-
ment at a committee hear-
ing on mental health care
in June. “Health care pro-
viders like it, law enforce-
ment likes it. The American
Rescue Plan included a bil-
lion-dollar down payment to
help states build their own
programs like CAHOOTS.
“Now the Congress needs
to consider what comes next
to build these programs suc-
cessfully and make sure peo-
ple are getting the help they
need even after the immedi-
ate crises end.”
During a meeting with
law enforcement, social ser-
vices agencies and political
leaders from the county and
cities last Friday, Wyden
said that while CAHOOTS
is a model, it cannot be
made into a cookie-cutter
approach throughout the
country.
The senator said he envi-
sions fl exibility and invest-
ment in multidisciplinary
teams. The discussion, he
‘Unrealistic’
Nicole Bales/The Astorian
Federal money may help Clatsop County expand mobile crisis response.
said, was designed to hear
from local leaders about
what would be helpful.
Amy Baker, the exec-
utive director of Clatsop
Behavioral Healthcare, esti-
mates that 12 clinicians are
needed to cover the entire
county 24/7. The mobile
crisis team has four staff -
ers trained in mental health
counseling.
“I think the challenge
is that our funding is often
based on population and not
on acknowledging the nec-
essary infrastructure that
we need just to get the job
done,” Baker said.
Diff ering opinions
There was consensus that
more funding is necessary to
address the growing number
of crisis calls on the North
Coast. However, there were
diff ering opinions on where
to start.
Astoria Mayor Bruce
Jones said the community
needs a full-time shelter
for people with behavioral
health problems.
“Obviously, it would
require some signifi cant
resources, which certainly
the city of Astoria doesn’t
have,” Jones said. “Nation-
ally, locally, regionally,
behavioral health treatment
has been grossly under-
funded for decades and that
needs to change.
“And I would just add
to that — that needs to not
come at the expense of local
law enforcement. Local
law enforcement needs the
resources it has to keep
our community safe. So I
would like to see the men-
tal health defi cits addressed
with resources, not fund-
ing at the expense of law
PUBLIC SAFETY LOG
belongings and part ways.
SEASIDE POLICE DEPT.
PUBLIC SAFETY LOG
June 20
8:46 a.m., 800 block Avenue S:
Caller requests a welfare check
for a man described as standing
in the same spot for three days.
The person tells police they are
fi ne.
8:31 a.m., Chamber restrooms:
Public works and police respond
to a request to get transients
blocking the public restrooms
to move along. Subjects agree
to leave.
12:45 p.m., Trend West alley-
way: Caller reports two very
young children urinating in
public.
2:13 p.m., Shilo Inn/Turn-
around: A missing person is
reported.
3:20 p.m., 400 block S. Holla-
day: A person is arrested on a
warrant.
4:28 p.m., 1000 block S. Down-
ing: Caller reports his grandson
was thrown off his bike by a
stranger.
1:03 p.m., 1200 block S.
Holladay: Caller at a coff ee cart
reports someone gave them
a fake $20 to pay for items
purchased.
4:18 p.m., Beach: A missing
person is reported.
8:11 p.m., S. Lincoln: Police re-
spond to a medical call regard-
ing a dog/animal complaint.
3:32 p.m., 500 block Avenue U:
Caller reports their son slashed
their car tires.
11:47 p.m., 2100 block S.
Franklin: Caller reports neighbor
yelling racial slurs and threat-
ening him. Police speak to the
neighbor about their conduct.
4:25 p.m., 400 block S. Roos-
evelt: Caller reports van with
dogs locked inside for a week.
Police make contact with the
owner of the van who said he
lost the key and is having a new
one made.
June 21
8:32 p.m., Mill Ponds: An assault
is reported.
9:34 p.m., Bob Chisholm park-
ing area: A woman complained
about regarding garbage
strewn around her motorhome
parked in the area says she is
re-arranging her belongings.
Police advise her of the com-
plaint.
June 22
11:44 a.m., First Avenue: A
disturbance is reported.
11:39 p.m., S. Roosevelt: An
intoxicated man reported in
the roadway says he will move
along and understands he must
stay out of the roadway.
June 24
9:20 p.m., Fourth and Holladay:
Fireworks reported.
10:15 p.m., Beach: A young boy
reported lost or missing on the
beach is located and reunited
with his family members.
6:14 p.m., 800 block N. Roo-
sevelt: Police intervene to a
verbal argument at a drive-
through restaurant where one
of the parties objected to being
recorded. It was explained to
the person the legality of video
recording. Police stayed on
scene until the objecting party
left the premises.
11:56 p.m., 800 block S. Roos-
evelt: A person is trespassed.
10:35 p.m., Turnaround: A child
reported missing is reunited
with its parents.
12:28 p.m., 1700 block N.
Roosevelt: Caller reports a male
who has parked himself under a
tree and is asleep. Offi cers make
contact and subject says he will
move along.
June 23
2:36 a.m., East end of Avenue
D: Transients reported arguing
in a camp agree to gather their
June 25
5:41 a.m., 200 block S. Roos-
evelt: Caller reports their car was
illegally entered.
6:24 a.m., Avenue U and the
beach: A disturbance is report-
ed.
June 26
3;56 p.m., Semaphore 12: A
missing person is reported.
4:29 p.m., Goodman Park:
Two rings found in the park are
turned into police for safekeep-
ing.
7:15 p.m., Avenue U: A distur-
bance is reported.
June 28
7:26 a.m., Wahanna Road:
Subject is arrested and held on a
Clatsop County Sheriff ’s warrant.
8:19 a.m., 1700 block S. Prom:
Caller reports a crow fl ew into
her bathroom. Police assist
getting the bird safely out.
11:52 a.m., Police headquarters:
A resident turns in guns for
safekeeping.
6:43 p.m., 500 block N.
Holladay: A missing person is
reported.
June 29
3:10 p.m., Avenue G and Frank-
lin: Property crimes reported.
6:07 p.m., Avenue A: Caller
wishes to report an attempted
break-in.
7:54 p.m., Clatsop Shores
Apartments: Property crimes are
reported.
June 30
8 a.m., 600 block S. Holladay:
Caller wants transient sleeping
on their property to move
along. The subject was contact-
ed and advised.
12:25 p.m., 1100 block Broad-
way: Caller reports dog left in
car for over a half hour. Police
check on the dog and see the
windows are open and the dog
is just lonely.
1:04 p.m., 1000 block S. Down-
ing: Caller reports an intruder
who broke into her apartment
was attacked by her dog.
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July 1
12:28 a.m., Turnaround: A
group of juveniles out after cur-
few are turned over to a respon-
sible adult who said they would
take the kids home. No further
police action was required.
12:31 a.m., First Avenue Bridge:
An inebriated man is given a
courtesy ride home after being
reported pacing on the bridge.
3:00 a.m., 11th and Prom: An
assault is reported.
11:04 a.m., 500 block Beach
Drive: A person reports some-
one stole her sewing scissors.
12:48 p.m., 1100 block N.
Roosevelt: Police facilitated in
an information exchange at an
accident where a dog left in a
vehicle put the gear in neutral,
causing the vehicle to roll and
strike another vehicle. No inju-
ries were reported.
12:51 p.m., U.S. Highway 101
by Motel 6: Police received two
reports of an unescorted child
running in the road. Police could
not locate.
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RIL Y’
S
9:05 a.m., 1200 block S.
Holladay Drive: Caller requests
transients leave the area. A
female refuses to identify herself
but eventually leaves.
rage incident saying the other
party pulled out a knife during
a confrontation. Police searched
the area for the person with
negative results.
enforcement.”
Astoria Police Chief
Geoff Spalding said many of
the city’s crisis calls involve
people who are homeless.
“And we talk about all
the things we want to do
for our homeless population
and if we don’t address the
mental health component
of that, my personal feel-
ing is that most of the other
solutions aren’t going to be
eff ective,” the police chief
said. “And so for me, I think
we really need additional
resources to address a sig-
nifi cant and growing prob-
Josh Marquis, a former
district attorney, said another
problem is that almost all of
the money for mental health
services comes from the
federal government.
“ ... the county puts in
exactly zero money of its
own into mental health,” he
said. “That money comes
from primarily federal and
secondarily state funds.
Now, on the other hand, ask-
ing the county to shoulder a
big, big part of it would be
unrealistic.”
Gearhart Police Chief
Jeff Bowman said that while
a model like CAHOOTS
may be nice, it does not
address the elephant in the
room.
“The root problem is why
are we dealing with them
to begin with out on the
street?” he said. “Whether
they’re homeless or they’re
not medicated or what-
ever reason — that’s the
issue really that should be
taken care of fi rst. You can
keep throwing money at us
to take care of the immedi-
ate issue, but it doesn’t stop
the bleeding. The bleeding
stops way before that.”
In January, in an
announcement meant to
draw attention to the lack
of mental health treatment
options, Bowman said his
offi cers would no longer
respond to mental health
calls unless there is an immi-
nent threat of physical harm.
“There is no question that
in an ideal world the very
fi rst dollar should always be
for prevention — no ques-
tion about it,” Wyden said.
“The reality is what do we
do when the world is not
ideal?”
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July 2
11:29 a.m., Library: Caller
requests subject be trespassed
from the library.
8:19 a.m., 400 block Avenue P:
Caller says someone entered her
garage and stole her laptop.
2:59 p.m., Avenue E and Beach
Drive: Individual selling fi re-
wood without a business license
was upset about a little girl
selling lemonade and wanted
to know if she had a business
license. Police were advised.
10:36 a.m., Fourth and
Roosevelt: Caller reports road
7:08 p.m., 12th and Beach:
Fireworks violation.
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503.325.3211
ext 1222
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