Specialized Intervention Services

On The Street: In times where mental illness is exploding, fentanyl, opioid and other drugs are driving the overdoses, and the houselessness epidemic is spreading like wildfire, so response has to be not just personalized to the situation, but brought right to the challenge in order for any sort of positive change to be realized. 

How It All Happens: Circumstantial displacement continues to drive those with mental illness onto the streets, and into the woods, straining the frontlines of both emergency response, and search and rescue, while our paramedics and EMT’s are typically tasked with the deescalation of situations where counselors are actually needed to redirect care in a responsible direction. 

Our Solutions: While significantly better than taking a chance with having a Law Enforcement agency intervene, EMT’s and paramedics are better-suited for intervention, however, still have no real business driving the Continuum of Care for those suffering mental health breakdowns. Our street response teams can deliver much better healthcare, mental health, social services and similar resources to our most vulnerable community members, as well as lightening the load on other participating first-responder agencies and/or community health programs. 

Having a dedicated team on shift, inclusive of a paramedic, social worker and/or community health worker, or a nurse team on rotation can save lives and free up public-safety resources for higher priorities and better duties. In contrast, having a mental health professional on site with that paramedic can save the system countless man hours and money diverting those with mental illness out of the criminal justice system and into the mental healthcare system, right where they belong. Relying on an innovator like Compassion Center can ensure that the job is done right.

People are simultaneously struggling with homelessness, mental illness and addiction, and while it is easy to turn a blind eye when it isn’t encroaching on your doorstep, its only a matter of time before the problem gets out of hand in your neighborhood. While Compassion Center had nothing to do with decriminalizing the possession of hard drugs in Oregon, Compassion Center has been on the frontline dealing with the fallout in both a proactive and reactive role.

Founded in Eugene, OR, 2001, where homelessness is otherwise criminalized, despite being out of hand and on the opposite end of the spectrum from our bigger sister city to the north,  Portland, regardless of what the rest of the state would like to feel, homelessness affects all. 

In contrast, our Las Vegas clinic sees fewer patients per capita indicating a small population of homeless people in the area compared to Portland, despite the difference in populations. Spin that around to Dallas, or Sugar Land, in contrast to Sheridan, Wyoming and it is clearly a problem driven by addiction, mental illness and lack of qualified services when/where they’re needed. Compassion Center aims to provide patients a pathway to recovery, and a purpose. 

Compassion Center is nondenominational and nonjudgmental so all are welcome and loved in regards to their being, not their skin color, social status, education, housing situation, cash or otherwise.  If you, or a loved one, are in need of specialized intervention, you may call the Compassion Center and press 6 for a scheduling clerk, ask for “Cowboy” if you’re in need of emergency access to recovery and stay positive on your pathway to recovery.    

Specialized intervention is not available in all jurisdictions since it is a specialized service and not all jurisdictions have members of the general population properly trained to assess and/or address crisis situations in parallel to their professional careers: It takes a special steward.