Willamette Valley
Crisis Care
Community Responders based in Eugene, OR
What was the impact of losing CAHOOTS?
UO researchers wanted to find out
September 15, 2026 - CAHOOTS stopped operations in Eugene on April 7th, 2025. What was the impact of this loss? Our research partners at the University of Oregon, Rori Rohlfs, Claire Herbert and their teams, analyzed publicly available call data and interviewed Eugene residents to publish two powerful reports on the impact of the loss of community responder welfare check service. They coauthored this powerful op-ed about the importance of returning welfare checks in Eugene (Lookout) and simultaneously publicly released a peer-reviewed study on changes in Eugene’s emergency services since CAHOOTS stopped.
The three major takeaways from the report are:
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The Eugene Police Department (EPD) is now spending more time on call types previously answered by CAHOOTS, and less time on other call types. Further, EPD response on these call types takes nearly double the staff time of CAHOOTS.
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Between EPD and Mobile Crisis Services of Lane County (MCSLC), Welfare Check service has dropped.
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Emergency call arrest rates have increased, for call types commonly previously answered by CAHOOTS, arrest rates have doubled.
Most participants in WVCC’s first Listening Session agreed that the City of Eugene should fund community responder services. Community members discussed ways the city could allocate funds—through an updated community safety initiative payroll tax, through a wealth tax, or through a dedicated fund for alternative response—and shared a strong desire to see the city make good on its commitment. Additional funding streams that were suggested included grants, Measure 110 related funding, and community support. Participants suggested alternative funding models such as sustainer/membership models, pay it forward programs, and worker owned cooperatives.
Write to your city councilor you and ask them to bring back community responder services and welfare checks. Help us bring CROWS to life.
Thanks to all who spoke up at the City Council meeting on September 14th. Join us for the next one:
Eugene City Council Meeting
Date: September 28
Time: 7:30 PM
Address: 500 E. 4th Avenue.
Let's make Eugene a national leader in community response again. Let's be a city where neighbors care about one another.
References:
Burton, N., Lafay, M., Uhlig, L., Gollier, A., Linnaea, J., Medina, C., & Rohlfs, R. (2026, September 2). After CAHOOTS: Service decline, shifting police attention, and a rising arrest rate. Retrieved from osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/bqtf2_v1
Herbert, C. (2026, publication pending). Calling CAHOOTS: Eugene residents relied on CAHOOTS for welfare-related concerns. Corresponding Author: Claire Herbert, PhD, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Oregon. Research Assistants: Vanessa Lepe, Dylan Podrabsky, Madeline Rose, and Mae Sowards
Infographic slides: content created by humans with design assistance from CanvaAI
WVCC Explores Community-Funded Community Responders Offering Wellness and Safety (CROWS), Awarded Contract with National Scaling Safety Initiative
EUGENE, OR — July 1, 2026 — Following the City of Eugene’s decision to bypass local, comprehensive care in favor of a private, for-profit corporation, Willamette Valley Crisis Care (WVCC) will host listening sessions to explore alternative response pilot to divert calls from the overburdened 911 system.
A Missed Opportunity for Eugene
The city is spending $500,000 on a referral-based peer navigation outreach program that doesn’t offer critical services like alternative response. For that same price, WVCC offered a comprehensive, locally rooted community response model: Community Responders Offering Wellness and Safety (CROWS) plus Aftercare. WVCC’s model was meticulously designed to safely divert and absorb the 28% surge in welfare checks currently straining the Eugene Police Department since the suspension of White Bird Clinic’s CAHOOTS services in Eugene. EPD reported a 36% increase in arrests in 2025, including a 58% increase in criminal trespass arrests.
CROWS plus aftercare would have offered 10 hours a day 7 days a week of community response services–including welfare checks–and 8 hours a week of aftercare.
National Recognition: WVCC Tapped for Just Safe’s Scaling Safety Initiative
WVCC has been awarded a major contract to provide training and technical assistance to Just Safe’s Scaling Safety Initiative, which works in five cities–Tucson, Cleveland, Miami, Jackson, and Austin. WVCC will support leaders in community-based public safety to increase the capacity of consent-based, unarmed civilian response.
WVCC continues to be a leader nationally in alternative response. A WVCC founder presented at the National Co-Responder Alliance Conference with the Center for Health and Justice in Dallas earlier this month. Founders are co-facilitating the Alternative Mobile Services Association's state collective for Oregon with explicit legislative goals to recapture funds dedicated to community care over enforcement.
Stay Tuned Upcoming Events
WVCC is officially launching its "What’s Next for WVCC?" matching fundraising campaign. Thanks to generous donors, every dollar raised during this campaign will be matched dollar-for-dollar, directly funding WVCC’s efforts to create sustainable funding for CROWS and integrated community-based crisis response services. Additionally, this matching campaign supports local trainings, and state and national advocacy for care not carceral solutions: alternative community-based response.
Willamette Valley Crisis Care’s Board of Directors are facilitating conversations on "How Might We Get Community Response Back to Eugene"? What are innovative ways of funding a CROWS pilot and pathways for a sustainable future? Subscribe to our newsletter or reach out to us directly if you are interested in hosting a fundraiser event.
About Willamette Valley Crisis Care (WVCC)
Willamette Valley Crisis Care is dedicated to creating community-led, wellness-centered alternatives to public safety and crisis response. Through training, consulting, and strategic partnerships, WVCC works to ensure that safety means care, dignity, and accountability for every community member.
We believe that a city known nationally for its approach to alternative response can again be a leader in community based public safety.
