The Center for Addictions Triage and Treatment (CATT) is a comprehensive substance use treatment center being developed by Washington County.

The CATT Connection

FEBRUARY 2024

A rendering of the future CATT Community Services Building in Hillsboro.

Financial Finish Line

Legislative short session brings needed resources to the project

It’s no secret that construction is costly. And when you are remodeling two separate buildings and adding a large addition to one of them, it gets really expensive!

Our initial funding for the CATT project came from behavioral health reserves held by the county. Even though the seed money was substantial, these funds were nowhere near enough to create an 86-bed facility plus an outpatient center with multiple types of substance use treatment services. We were fortunate to have excellent local health care partners including Health Share of Oregon, CareOregon, Providence Health & Services, Trillium Community Health Plan, and Yamhill CCO, who all contributed capital funding to the project.

In addition, staff were able to secure funding from the State of Oregon through Measure 110, House Bill 5202 and the 2023 legislative session. Funding from the national opioid settlements provided the project with much needed financial support as the County and cities including Tigard, Cornelius and Hillsboro contributed settlement dollars to the CATT project. Despite all these dollars, the project was still about $4.8 million shy of having the capital costs covered.

Legislators in the recent short session demonstrated their support of the project by allocating money to cover the capital costs. Additionally, they provided funds to help cover the cost of start-up and sobering services. With this action, the CATT is fully funded and one step closer to reality!

Thank you for the support!

We would like to share our deep appreciation for the support we have received in accomplishing a fully funded project. A huge THANK YOU goes out to our county commissioners, legislators, local cities, health partners and staff who have ensured we will bring new substance use treatment services to Washington County!

In January, county mental health program directors, legislators and their staff toured the future site of the CATT Community Services Building in Hillsboro.

Staff Respond to Key Questions from Legislators and Local Leaders

Pictured: Oregon State Representatives Travis Nelson and Rob Nosse visited with Washington County Commissioner Pam Treece during the tour. Nosse is chair of the House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care and Nelson is vice-chair.

Now that the CATT design is complete and the buildings are in our possession, we felt it was a good time to share more details about the project with our elected leaders at both the state and federal level. Over the past few months, staff have held numerous tours and informational sessions about the project, inviting local representatives to see the sites and learn more about the planned services. Here are some of the key questions they raised, followed by responses from staff:

Why is the project taking so long? Is there anything we can do to speed it up?

This is a purpose-built project, meaning we are designing the facility to support effective and safe services rather than trying to make the services work within an existing building. Because of the extensive architectural and engineering work we are doing, the project is taking a while to move forward. We are doing everything we can to identify opportunities to shorten the construction timeline, but it simply takes time when you are managing two big renovations.

Why are the services planned to be voluntary? Why isn’t it going to be a hold facility?

We designed the services using input from many community members, including those with lived experience of receiving treatment in substance use treatment programs. We also received substantial input from public safety, community corrections, health care and community providers. Using this information, we determined that creating a warm and welcoming environment — one that invited people to return as many times as they needed — was likely to result in better outcomes than if we were to create an involuntary program.

How will the services be funded once the CATT is open?

Our Medicaid (Oregon Health Plan) partners have been supportive of this project from the beginning and are committed to funding services for their members. We expect that most people served at the CATT will have Medicaid. For all others, we will bill commercial insurance where available and use state and opioid funding to ensure services are available to all our community members who decide they are ready for help with problem substance use.

CATT Champion Spotlight

Our work on the CATT is grounded in the knowledge that substance use touches all of us in different ways. As we’ve worked on the CATT project, many people have stepped forward and shared very personal stories with us about how they or their loved ones have been impacted by substance use. These stories have inspired us and emphasized the need to improve access to substance use care and treatment. We have been sharing stories from community members we call “CATT Champions.” Every CATT Champion has volunteered to have their story published in their own words. We hope these stories help to highlight the reason we are working hard to bring a substance use triage and treatment center to our community.

CATT Champion Jenna

I grew up in a family with generational patterns of substance abuse, poor mental health and poverty. My father was an alcoholic and physically and emotionally abusive. My mom was addicted to more serious substances and was often homeless; she died in her 40s of asphyxiation complicated by overdose.

Addiction continues to run in my family. My oldest sister struggles with addiction and lost custody of all four of her children. My second sister was stabbed to death by someone high on meth. My youngest sister was found dead of a suspected overdose, although an autopsy was not completed. Her daughter, my 15-year-old niece, died of an overdose suicide.

Somehow, I was spared the addiction and mental health issues that have plagued my immediate family. I often describe myself as the white sheep in a black sheep family. How did I not end up with substance use issues and/or major mental health issues? What protective factors did I have that they did not? Pondering these questions at such an early age prompted me to want to go to college and study psychology and addiction. I now have a master’s degree in social work, and I’ve spent nearly 20 years working in behavioral health services, primarily addiction services.

Today I am the Director of Outpatient Services at CODA and I sit as the co-chair for the Clackamas Community Alliance (formerly called the Opioid Task Force). I am an Overdose Response trainer and an ASIST trainer (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Trainer). I also sit on the Board of Ambassadors at Boys & Girls Aid helping support children in foster care. It remains my life goal to understand and support others struggling with substance abuse and misuse.

What I’ve learned and want to pass along

My advice on how best to support people is to listen to them. Let people set their own goals, support them in every small win, and understand that relapse happens. Relapse is a great opportunity to learn more about what worked and what didn’t. People already feel so much shame and embarrassment on their own, so if you’re helping them, remember to normalize mistakes and strive for better outcomes in a collaborative and respectful way. Finally, don’t assume that you know what is best for someone else. Let them tell you what their needs are and listen.

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