A CAHOOTS van pauses in traffic near the University district in this undated photo.
Brian Bull / KLCC
White Bird’s CAHOOTS program, which provides services to people in crisis, will no longer serve the city of Eugene.
Employees had been warning of impending cuts for months, and White Bird had already planned to scale back to two shifts a week: Fridays and Saturdays.
But on Monday, the organization and the City of Eugene issued a joint press release announcing they didn’t have the financial capacity to continue providing CAHOOTS in Eugene, and that service was ending immediately. CAHOOTS, which stands for Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets, will continue to be available in Springfield from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
The announcement is a stunning development for a service that’s been recognized nationally, especially in the wake of the social justice protests that followed the 2020 murder of George Floyd, which renewed the national conversation about the role of armed officers in responding to mental health crises.
In 2021, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., even introduced a bill to try to replicate the model nationwide. That same year, White Bird created an online course to help other communities create similar services.
Despite the immediate discontinuation of CAHOOTS in Eugene, officials urged people experiencing or witnessing a mental health crisis to continue to reach out for help.
“How you access service, really, doesn’t change,” Eugene Springfield Fire Chief Mike Caven told KLCC. “Frequency of availability, or the type of resources that’s going to go to mitigate that call might be different until we get things stabilized and figured out for the long term. But, if you call non-emergency, crisis line, or 911, the safety net’s still there.”
He said Lane County’s mobile crisis team is available, though they may not be able to provide some services that CAHOOTS covered, like transportation, and housing assistance.
It was not immediately clear what prompted the sudden pivot from White Bird’s plan to continue CAHOOTS services in Eugene two days a week, to the announcement that it was ending immediately. As recently as last Thursday, White Bird told KLCC the twice-weekly shifts would continue. When the city and White Bird’s joint press release was issued Monday afternoon, White Bird’s website still listed the Friday and Saturday schedule. The website has since been updated to reflect the complete cessation of services in Eugene.
White Bird’s interim executive director Amée Markwardt was unavailable for interviews Monday afternoon, but is scheduled to speak with KLCC Tuesday morning.
In the news release, Markwardt said the organization was committed to exploring solutions to restore CAHOOTS.
“We recognize the impact these changes have on both our staff and the people who rely on CAHOOTS in times of crisis,” she said. “White Bird will continue advocating for investment in mental health services and crisis response to ensure that those in need receive the care and support they deserve. This is a time for our community to come together to find sustainable funding solutions that allow essential programs like CAHOOTS to thrive.”
Rebecca Hansen-White and Chris M Lehman are reporters with KLCC. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.