Salem pauses plans on mental health response unit modeled after CAHOOTS in Eugene

SALEM, Ore. — After a year of discussing plans for a mobile mental health response unit, Salem is pumping the brakes on their version of Eugene's CAHOOTS program. City council members are now torn on how to move forward.

Vanessa Nordyke said she's continuing to work with Marion County to advocate for this kind of program, which allows people to call 911 for specific mental health cases.

"This is a person who may be expressing suicidal thoughts. Maybe it’s a person who looks lost and confused wandering down the street. These are for non-criminal calls," Nordyke said.

Nordyke said Salem is hoping for matching grant funding through House Bill 2417. This would allow Marion County to allocate funding from the state to these units.

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"I plan on talking with my city councilors and my mayor about next steps. You know, roadblocks happen in government. That’s just a fact of life. So this is about building relationships and having open lines of communication," Nordyke said.

Not all city council members agree the response unit is the biggest priority.

Chris Hoy said, after communication with agencies like United Way, he's worried there would not be anywhere to transport victims after these calls.

"They either go to the hospital or they go to the jail and that’s not a great option for most folks. They don’t need to be in the hospital and certainly don’t need to be in jail for most of the issues that we’re talking about here when it’s a mental health crisis or some sort of crisis as a result of their addiction," Hoy said.

KATU News asked the council president if a mobile response unit is still on the table, and receiving effort from the council at this time.

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“I would say it’s absolutely on the table. I don’t believe it’s being worked on at this time but it’s absolutely still on the table. I believe everyone is still committed to having non-law enforcement resources available to help address the needs of people who are experiencing homelessness. I think that commitment is 100 percent still there. I have not heard anybody say that commitment has gone away," Hoy said.

Hoy said right now the priority is a low-barrier shelter that also provides mental health services. He expects this navigation center to open in the next six months.