FILE - A syringe is seen in a tent near the intersection of SW 12th Avenue and SW Columbia Street in downtown Portland, June 25, 2021. Measure 110, a drug treatment and recovery act, aims to connect drug users to treatment and recovery services, including housing assistance instead of serving time in jail for possessing small amounts of drugs.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
The Oregon Health Authority has hired a new contractor to run a state helpline that is supposed to connect people who are using drugs to services and treatment.
The helpline, which launched in 2021 as part of Oregon’s first-in-the-nation effort to decriminalize drug possession, was supposed to give people ticketed for drug possession a voluntary way to get help and a way to avoid a $100 fine.
But the tickets law enforcement hand out under Measure 110 don’t have the hotline number printed on them, and the hotline hasn’t been used much. Fewer than 600 people have called it over the last three years, according to OHA.
The authority said it is working on a revamp of the service with Health Resources in Action, a Boston-based public health nonprofit.
Related: Marion County joins growing list calling for Measure 110 repeal
They’re planning to do more promotion and outreach and add features, like texting.
The new helpline number is 1-833-975-0505. The previous helpline phone numbers, 503-575-3769 and 541-575-3769, will continue to operate and will feed into the new number. You can also look up the hotline number online, at orrecoverycenterhotline.org.
In a test call by OPB on Wednesday, it took about five minutes on hold to connect with a specialist.
The helpline is open to anyone seeking access to help for themselves or a loved one. Bystanders concerned about a person in crisis or overdosing should call 9-1-1 or the 9-8-8 crisis line.
Related: Effort underway to recriminalize drugs again, supporters include Oregon’s richest businessmen