This is a supplement to the 90 minute talk given by Jason Renaud to various organizations – 2020-2024 Updated November 2023 1787 – Benjamin Rush and Benjamin Franklin develop ideals of public prisons as an alternative to corporal punishment. Rush shares their ideas with Jeremy Bentham who in 1791 promoted his “Panopticon” plan for a […]
Here’s an audio update and overview of the current status of US Department of Justice v City of Portland, a “pattern and practice” suit which in 2023 found the Portland Police Bureau routinely harm people with mental illness. This interview with longtime Portland police reform activists Dr. Rochelle Silver and Jason Renaud by Lisa Loving […]
Portland city council prepares to vote on new sobering beds KGW.com – May 2023 ‘Portland could use 50 beds’: City council proposes adding sobering beds to psychiatric hospital KGW.com – May 2023 Council members are set to vote on Wednesday to add nine new sobering beds at the Unity Center’s Psychiatric Hospital. This would cost […]
Ebony Clarke speaks at gathering of more than 1,000 for workers involved in behavioral health From the Oregon Capital Chronicle, May 8, 2023 Ebony Clarke, Oregon’s new behavioral health director, urged a packed conference in Seaside to look beyond state government for solutions and change. Clarke, appointed by Gov. Tina Kotek in February, spoke Monday […]
From the Willamette Week – April 2023 Allegations of sexual relationships between county contractors contributed to the closure. Late last month, Multnomah County abruptly shut down temporarily its downtown Behavioral Health Resource Center, which provides respite for homeless Portlanders. At the time, it cited needed building repairs and staff training as reasons for the closure. But last […]
Oregon hospital systems say they’re saddled with patients who should be in the state hospital, but a federal judge questions the validity of their argument The Lund Report – April 2023 A federal judge on Tuesday cast doubt on arguments by three Oregon health systems that state officials are illegally abandoning civilly committed mental health […]
From KATU.com April 2023 Several business owners are accusing Gresham Police of overreacting after officers were caught on camera repeatedly using a stun gun on a 59-year-old homeless man. It happened at Cheap Charlie’s Beer and Wine Superstore on the afternoon of March 9. Surveillance video shows Ronnie Amato frantically rushing into the store after […]
From the Oregon Capital Chronicle, March 2023 As Kotek seeks more funding, the state also is working on a five-year plan Gov. Tina Kotek is asking lawmakers to put $74.2 million into behavioral health programs in one bill as she begins crafting a five-year plan to address the state’s crisis. Kotek and the state’s new […]
One of the most irksome parts of Oregon’s mental health tragedy is the need to constantly restate the problem (and pad their publishing) for professionals migrating through on their way to a more lucrative career. Behavioral Health Workforce Report to the Oregon Health Authority and State Legislature FINAL REPORT, February 1, 2022 The conclusion of […]
Staff drug use, alleged misconduct shuttered Multnomah County behavioral health center, now reopened – Oregonian, April 2023 Security concerns and misconduct among contracted staff shuttered Multnomah County’s Behavioral Health Resource Center in downtown Portland late last month, county staff acknowledged for the first time on Monday, the day of the center’s reopening. Earlier this month, […]
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