Walk-in addiction recovery service in Eugene risks shutting after drastic state funding cuts

On 12th Avenue in Eugene, there’s a place where people in the throes of addiction can walk in the front door and get help. People like Ted Alan Jarrett.

“I had the thoughts that I could not, at that point in my life, help myself," he said. "I came in with hope that someone could restore hope in me.”

Jarrett was 48 years old when he decided to seek help.

"I would say that I either had to make a change or I was gonna die,” he said.

Jarrett was the first “case” at Restored Connections Peer Center, better known as RCPC. In January of 2023, it was a fledgling nonprofit and is still the only zero-barrier, drop-in recovery service center of its kind in the region.

“RCPC helps you the day you walk in,” Jarrett said.

Peer mentorship is a central aspect of RCPC. Jarret’s certified mentor not only got him through drug treatment but also helped him get his driver’s license. He said along the way of recovery, something sparked in him.

“This part of me that wanted to also help other people that were in my shoes, which has probably been the most gratifying thing that I’ve come across in my life— helping another person get that kind of bit of hope that they haven’t had in years,” he said.

Helping people turn the corner

Everyone who works at RCPC has “lived experience.” Stephanie Cameron is founder and Executive Director. She said she turned her history of drug addiction into a story of helping others.

“We all identify with the struggles that come along with substance use disorder," she said. "So, we have experienced what it’s like to be in that window of opportunity where you’re ready to make change and go to detox or treatment.”

Cameron said RCPC is crucial to folks who are coming out of jail or trying to exit the chaos of the criminal lifestyle.

“Because after treatment, after incarceration and those services end—you’re on your own,” she said. “And often we’re not ready to be on our own. We need support. Support and connection is what is ultimately going to help us with the underlying issue of addiction.”

In its comfortable, homey space, RCPC provides no-barrier, drop-in recovery services through peer support and culturally specific and linguistic responsive services.

Program Manager Gabe Difani, who grew up in Montana in the Salish and Kootenai Tribes, oversees the Indigenous Support Services.

“We are able to bring people back into their Indigenous culture," he said. "That looks like making moccasins, making drums, doing traditional beading. We have elder stories to reconnect people to their culture. We take people to indigenous dinner. We have a sweat lodge.”

A funding crunch

RCPC is a Behavioral Health Resource Network, or BHRN. Under voter-approved Measure 110, Oregon's Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act, every county or tribal area is required to have at least one BHRN. In Lane County, 11 BHRN agencies work as a collective.

In the very first funding cycle in 2022, RCPC received a Measure 110 start-up grant of just under $1 million. An $800,000 extension was awarded in 2023.

These funding decisions are made solely by the Oregon Health Authority’s Oversight and Accountability Council, or OAC. The citizen panel decides who gets grant awards and how much.

Cameron said RCPC's latest proposal to the council included community impacts. It's a list she can repeat from memory.

“In 2024, our drop-in center was accessed around 5,400 times. We provided 941 individuals with intentional peer support. We helped 400 individuals with supported employment," Cameron said. "In Lane County, we helped house 636 individuals, which is huge.”

A partnership with Public Defender Services of Lane County helped expunge or “set aside” criminal convictions for 116 people in 2024-2025, removing barriers to housing and employment for people in recovery.

Despite these outcomes, funding to RCPC for the next cycle was drastically reduced to $325,000 per year, shrinking its budget by 75%.

The Oregon Health Authority said the state had $400 million from cannabis tax revenues to award in the current grant cycle—far short of the $1.1 billion in requests.

While reviewing grant proposals from Lane County during a February meeting, OAC member Caroline Cruz acknowledged the difficult decisions being made.

“No one is going to get the money that they’re requesting," said Cruz. "People are gonna lose their jobs. I mean, this is heart-wrenching, but I think we probably need to move on.”

The OAC cut funding to existing BHRN agencies across the board.

Lane County District Attorney Chris Parosa isn’t satisfied with that decision. He said grant awards should be based on outcomes.

“It would be one thing, in my perspective, if you did some kind of accounting to determine what the return on investment was for each agency," Parosa told KLCC. "And if you have less return on investment from the state, then you get less money in the future. But they’re not even doing that, from what I can tell. They’re just across the board cutting.”

Parosa supports RCPC, particularly for its work in pre-arrest diversion strategies, known as deflection.

“I know Stephanie Cameron," he said. "She helped us in standing up the deflection program over the summer. I know what her group does and I think they provide an incredibly valuable service to our community. And I think it’s tragic that her group is losing funding.”

In 2024, Oregon HB 4002 reversed portions of Measure 110, recriminalizing drug possession while giving people the choice of being charged or getting treatment. Treatment includes completing a behavioral health screening and participating in a deflection program in exchange for their criminal convictions or charges being dropped.

Tucker Campbell is supervising attorney with the Lane County Public Defender’s office and is also on the Board of Directors of Restored Connections Peer Center.

He said if RCPC has to close its doors due to the cuts in Measure 110 funding, the impact to the community will be significant.

“There will be hundreds of residents of Lane County who are currently receiving case management services from RCPC who will just be dropped,” he said. “It doesn’t mean they won’t have access to some resources through piecemeal agencies. But RCPC is the centralized resource for people to walk in the door, tell people what they need and make things happen.”

Some Oregon lawmakers are questioning the Measure 110 funding process.

As co-chair of the Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response, Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, has called for a hearing to discuss a bill that would relocate the grant review process and funding power from the OAC to the Criminal Justice Commission.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Cameron of RCPC said changing who controls future funding is a moot point for the current budget cycle.

“While everybody in Salem is trying to focus on beating this dead horse, none of that is going to change the fact that in 90 days, these services are going to be completely gone,” she said.

Right now, Cameron holds on to hope that local government will step in to help RCPC keep their doors open until a permanent funding source is found.

Local funding may be hard to come by, however, as the City of Eugene is potentially cutting services as voters prepare to decide the future of an emergency services fee.

This article was originally published by KLCC. It has been republished here with permission.