We love our city and care about everyone who lives here. As community members who support effective community safety interventions that prioritize healing and accountability, highly skilled unarmed first responders like Portland Street Response (PSR) are exactly what we need more of. In spite of PSR’s success, recent Council action has demonstrated a lack of support for the popular program that makes Portland safer for all.

We are asking the Portland City Council to stick to their promise that they would champion and expand Portland Street Response by taking the following action:

1. End the hiring freeze imposed on Portland Street Response and adequately fund PSR to meet citywide demand 24/7, as promised by City Council.

Last year, Portland Street Response was funded for 24/7 citywide coverage by a unanimous City Council vote, with an expectation that PSR would operate 24/7 by early 2023. This year, Council has reduced its budget and imposed a hiring freeze, preventing PSR from hiring to full capacity. This additionally jeopardizes their chance at receiving federal or state funding.

2. Remove restrictions on the purchase of life-saving supplies used to provide services, build community trust and de-escalate 911 calls.

Portland Street Response employees de-escalate 911 calls involving people in crisis and save lives using supplies like naloxone, water bottles, and clothing. They are now facing restrictions on the purchase and distribution of the supplies they need to do their job.

3. Allow Portland Street Response to respond to more 911 call types, such as appropriate calls inside residences or involving a potential suicide attempt.

The Portland Police Association has been blocking Portland Street Response from being dispatched to 911 calls that involve responding inside a residence or to a potential suicide. The United States Department of Justice recommended PSR be allowed to respond to these call types to help bring the City of Portland into compliance with an ongoing 2014 settlement agreement due to a pattern of unconstitutional use of force by Portland police against people with mental illness. The City of Portland remains out of compliance.

4. Keep Portland Street Response out of enforcement activities.

In order to establish trust with the clients Portland Street Response serves, experts, survey results and independent evaluations have strongly recommended Portland Street Response not be involved in enforcement activities. In spite of this, PSR was recently directed to be involved in the enforcement of laws pertaining to those living without shelter - a community that includes many of PSR’s clients.

5. Establish Portland Street Response as a co-equal branch of our first responder network located within a supportive environment in Portland city government.

Recent media has exposed a hostile and unsupportive work environment for Portland Street Response workers. A recent Portland State University evaluation of PSR included a recommendation to consider transferring PSR from Portland Fire & Rescue to the Community Safety Division (CSD) or to create a new bureau of alternative response programs.

Save Portland Street Response!

Number of signatures: 12063

Background

Portland Street Response is a police-alternative, unarmed 911 response option that assists people experiencing mental and behavioral health crises.

This first major update to our 911 response system in over a century began as a community call to ensure we send the right first responder to each 911 call. The Portland Police Bureau continues to remain out of compliance with a 2014 Department of Justice settlement due to a pattern of unconstitutional use of force against individuals with mental illness. Additionally, the Oregonian reported that more than half of all arrests made by PPB were of people experiencing homelessness – creating an expensive, ineffective cycle of incarceration for low level offenses while adding additional barriers to housing and services.