City Council, We're Ready

alesecolehour
1 day ago
2 min read

Write to your City Councilor and tell them its time to issue an RFP for alternative services. Tell them a story about a time recently when you needed a CAHOOTS-like service and they weren’t there.

Let's get back on the Road

Willamette Valley Crisis Care is preparing to apply for Eugene’s RFP to return CAHOOTS like services to Eugene. Please donate and share this campaign with your networks.

We presented at the WOW Hall for the City Club KLCC Program, Friday, September 12th. Founders of WVCC along with a member of Friends of CAHOOTS spoke about the journey to return services to Eugene and the integrity of our mobile integrated health model. Listen on KLCC (link below).

CAHOOTS-like services support people experiencing acute and ongoing crises related to mental health, substance dependence, houselessness, poverty, grief and loss, interpersonal conflict, and low acuity medical needs, especially for those who experience barriers to care. These services bridge and fill gaps in the existing emergency response system and expand the array of solutions beyond jails and hospitals to connect people to shelter, primary health care providers, treatment, counseling, mediation, and more. The integrated health model–a medic and crisis worker team–enables assessment and / transport when higher levels of care such as EMS response or ER visit are required.

WVCC was founded by former CAHOOTS workers committed to a pro-labor and trauma-informed work environment. We believe we can and must meet the needs of our clients, community, partner agencies, and workers simultaneously to strengthen our public safety and wellness ecosystem.

We’re currently asking community members to call or email your city counselor and share that you want the city to issue an RFP as soon as possible so CAHOOTS-like services can be returned to Eugene. You can also share any stories of prior times you would’ve been able to rely on CAHOOTS-like services and what impact it had on you, your community, clients to not have these vital services. You’re also invited to come to City Council Monday September 24th and share your stories and advocate with us to return services as soon as possible.

Please donate to support worker-led efforts to return CAHOOTS-like services and support our capacity to share this model. We are forming technical assistance partnerships with TASC’s Center for Health and Justice and consulting projects with the Alliance for Safety and Justice to support cities across the country that want to implement CAHOOTS-like models. We are forming technical assistance partnerships with the Center for Health and Justice and consulting projects with the Alliance for Safety and Justice to support cities across the country that want to implement CAHOOTS-like models.