Recovery treatment beds going unused in Oregon amid opioid crisis

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - Oregon is facing a shortage of recovery treatment beds, places where people can go to find shelter and connection to professional treatment for drug addiction recovery.

As efforts are underway to create more recovery beds, some of the beds currently available are going unused.

Dillan Bragg has been in and out of homelessness since he was a teenager, living on the street of downtown Portland off and on for nine years.

“A disagreement with my family led up to my mom who was an alcoholic so she was drunk one night and long story short I said some things…and my mom was like if you don’t like the way things are here then you can leave,” Bragg said.

15-years-old at the time, Bragg left home and ended up on the streets. He said he was hooked up with the wrong crowd and hit rock bottom, getting addicted to fentanyl.

“This mass of a lie that this drug can imprint on people’s brain really quickly – it doesn’t take long it just takes a couple weeks of using or even a week and you just become transfixed on how can I get my next high,” Bragg said.

Alex Tahtinen is Braggs’ onsite counselor at the adult and teen challenge addiction recovery program in Estacada.

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“I met Dillan when he entered the program 11 months ago. He was terrified and angry,” Tahtinen said.

After almost a year of counseling, Bragg is about to graduate from the program and move on to a possible job.

The program offers men free room and board with professional treatment for their addictions. The program is described to be intensive, requiring residents to hep with chores.

“Statistically speaking the success rate in our division is about 76-80 percent,” Tahtinen said.

Despite the huge need for shelter and recovery beds in Oregon, Tahtinen says about a dozen beds in this facility remain unused.

“There’s not a lot of interagency work in recovery program. It’s a problem that we’ve encountered. If I could go on my app and say I found you a bed, let me put a hold on it, I’ll put you in a cab and get you there,” he said.

Scott Kerman, the executive director of Blanchet Houses, said there is a lack of a centralized database or phone app for outreach workers to use in finding available recovering beds.

“This is a tech rich environment, there’s got to be someone within earshot of this who is like I can do this,” Kerman said.

At a time when Oregon’s fentanyl overdose rate is up more than 1,500 percent since pre-pandemic days, he said improving the safety net becomes all the more important.

“Rebuilding that identity that I’m of value, no matter what I’ve done or where I’ve been or any of those things has really been the breakthrough thing for me,” Kerman said.

Bragg got help and wants to work now in a job where he can help others beat addiction too.

“I think the key is letting people know their value. A huge part of addiction and a huge part of the problems we have in our lives is we don’t understand our value.”

The recovery center is supported in part by thrift stores. Residents work at these stores where donated items are sold to raise funds for the program. If you would like to make a donation or learn about other ways you can help, hit this link.

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