Alyssa Garcia
White Bird Clinic provides humanistic healthcare and supportive services for those in need in the Lane County community. (Alyssa Garcia/Emerald)
CAHOOTS, which stands for Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets, is ending its services in Eugene after laying off many of its workers two weeks prior and drastic budget cuts, announced by White Bird Clinic.
Service hours for the CAHOOTS and Crisis programs were set to reduce to one shift per week on April 7, but things took a turn when it was announced on the same day that its services would no longer be available in the city of Eugene.
After a budget shortfall of $11.5 million in the city of Eugene, CAHOOTS introduced drastic budget cuts and additional financial issues led to employee layoffs.
Services will continue to operate in Springfield and its crisis hotline seven days a week. Those in need of mobile crisis services in Eugene are directed to contact the Mobile Crisis Services of Lane County.
CAHOOTS provides mobile crisis response and transportation to stabilization units or immediate stabilization in cases of urgent medical needs. They respond to certain non-emergency calls that involve behavioral health and homelessness in addition to other services.
A town hall meeting for CAHOOTS is scheduled for April 10 at 6 p.m. to research and discuss the service’s impact it has on the community and the challenges it faces, as well as a Q&A with presenters and attendees.