Re: State, county, city emergency declared amid Portland fentanyl crisis

On 18 Feb 2022, Lefty Lundquist <[email protected]> posted some
news:[email protected]: 

> You stupid Portlandistan fucks voted for it!  CHANGE IT OR LIVE WITH
> IT!  FUCK YOUR WHINING! 

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Fentanyl’s damaging impact in Portland has spurred 
a state, county and city emergency declaration.

Governor Tina Kotek, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, and 
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler have joined forces to address the region’s 
growing fentanyl crisis. In a Tuesday press conference, the three leaders 
kicked off a 90-day initiative that aims to combat the drug’s ongoing 
impact.

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“Our country and our state have never seen a drug this deadly and 
addictive, and all are grappling with how to respond,” Governor Kotek 
said. “The Chair, the Mayor and I recognize the need to act with urgency 
and unity across our public health and community safety systems to make a 
dent in this crisis. We are all in this together. The next 90 days will 
yield unprecedented collaboration and focused resources targeting fentanyl 
and provide a roadmap for next steps.”

On Dec. 11, Gov. Kotek said she planned to declare the statewide emergency 
and expected leaders in Portland and Multnomah County to follow suit.

“Today, we move forward with urgency to address these challenges together 
under the authority of emergency declarations. This is exactly the type of 
coordinated action needed to make a direct impact and a lasting 
difference,” Mayor Wheeler said.

By declaring a tri-government emergency, Oregon, Multnomah County, and 
Portland will be able to access reserves of money that can address the 
management and treatment of those suffering from fentanyl addictions.

A command center will be established in the city where employees begin 
coordinating strategies. Each level of government has assigned an incident 
commander to represent their jurisdiction.

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Multnomah County will also work to prevent the “exposure and use of 
fentanyl; reduce harm among people using substances; and increase access 
to outreach, treatment, recovery, and housing services,” according to a 
press release shared early Tuesday afternoon.

The Health Department will also launch two public education campaigns that 
will fund billboards, digital media, and more to “promote prevention among 
youth” and “reduce stigma for treatment.”

Kotek previously said she expects lawmakers to pass a law in the next 
legislative session to ban open drug use — similar to the longtime ban on 
public drinking. However, that decision has yet to be finalized.

”If you or a loved one is struggling with a fentanyl addiction, we hear 
you, we see you and we are taking this crisis seriously,” Chair Vega 
Pederson said. “We are acting with shared leadership to take urgent action 
today to respond to the very human toll fentanyl takes in our community, 
including overdoses, fatalities and day-to-day suffering, and the fear so 
many families are experiencing as a result.”

Multnomah County recently released a report of deaths among people 
experiencing homelessness that revealed a shocking spike in those 
attributed to fentanyl use. While there were zero deaths attributed to the 
drug in 2016, the number has since grown from four in 2020, 36 in 2021, 
and an astounding 91 deaths in 2022.

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residence: Officials

“In other words, about the same number of people who died while 
experiencing homelessness for any reason in 2018 died this year with 
fentanyl alone as a cause of death,” Street Roots Executive Director Kaia 
Sand said in her introduction to the report. “Fentanyl poisoning is 
killing people across North America.”

The entire Domicile Unknown 2022 report can be found on Multnomah County’s 
website.

Stay with KOIN 6 as this story develops.

https://news.yahoo.com/state-county-city-emergency-declared-204352457.html