Two years ago, Multnomah County announced its contract with a “nationally recognized” nonprofit to operate its new drug deflection center on Southeast Sandy Boulevard—a place where those caught with illegal narcotics might be sent for treatment as an alternative to prosecution, or simply go to sober up.
The center has faced scrutiny for its underwhelming outcomes. And now that nonprofit, the Baltimore-based Tuerk House, has moved along. Tuerk House did not respond to a call seeking comment, but a county spokesperson confirmed to WW a new nonprofit was set to take over management at the July 1 dawn of the fiscal year.
The change, a county spokesperson tells WW, is part of a long-planned transition and competitive bid process, won by the new organization, Community Bridges. Now, the decades-old Meza, Arizona-based nonprofit has taken over the facility, known as the Coordinated Care Pathway Center. It is set to run the permanent facility for deflection and sobering that the county is building and says will open in the fall of 2027…