With the exit of CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets) on April 7 from the city of Eugene after 35 years of operations, questions and uncertainties are being raised throughout the community. Clients, workers and former employees are searching for answers as to what the next steps are.
CAHOOTS, a mobile crisis intervention program, is operated by White Bird Clinic, which is a federally qualified health center that provides primary care services in the communities it serves.
CAHOOTS saw drastic reductions from its operator, White Bird, that resulted in over 20 employees being laid off and its service hours reduced to one shift a week. The city of Eugene, seeing that CAHOOTS could no longer fulfill its contractual obligations, came to an agreement with White Bird to terminate its contract with CAHOOTS effective April 7.
Research and discussions about CAHOOTS’ overall impact on the community and the challenges they’re currently facing were introduced during a
pre-planned town hall meeting on April 10 at the University of Oregon, three days after the announcement that its services would end in Eugene. CAHOOTS will continue to operate in Springfield.
How CAHOOTS impacted Eugene
According to Alese Colehour, a master’s student in social work at Portland State University who presented at the April 10 town hall, CAHOOTS handled over 16,800 requests for service in 2024, an average of 46 calls per day.
CAHOOTS responded to calls that included de-escalation or mental health emergencies in addition to other situations, often serving as an alternative to police intervention.
To highlight its value in the community, a community survey showed 94% of survey respondents agree or strongly agree that CAHOOTS is an essential part of public safety and good use of tax dollars, while 90% agree the program aligns with their values.
Additionally, 98% of respondents from the Eugene and Springfield Police Departments agree that CAHOOTS is effective in preventing suicide.
Natalie Cheechov, a former medic with CAHOOTS, explained that there are two branches of clients. The direct clients are the most vulnerable members who may or may not know how to access other services. The other type of clients are those who aren’t usual users of CAHOOTS and will be impacted by the additional strain placed on emergency services.
“It’s atrocious that CAHOOTS has been defunded, so I think it becomes important for us as scholars and academics to share our research findings, especially at this moment,” Rori Rohlfs, an associate professor in data science at UO who spoke at the town hall, said.
Rohlfs and Nathan Burton, a graduate of the University of Oregon data science program, researched the impact of CAHOOTS and shared their findings on the diversion it redirects away from police responses, essentially the reduction of calls police receive.
They notably found that CAHOOTS directly diverts about 17% of dispatched calls.
According to the CAHOOTS Call Volume Report, the most common types of calls over the last three years have been for public assistance, welfare checks, transportation to services and suicidal subjects that include prevention, assessment and intervention.
CAHOOTS responded to 3,217 incidents in the final three months before its exit and 13,929 incidents in 2024.
“I think that there’s going to be really quick repercussions and really large gaps that show up quickly that CAHOOTS has just been filling for 36 years, and all of a sudden, we’re going to see those holes in the infrastructure,” Michelle Perin, a former employee at White Bird Clinic who spoke at the town hall, said.
After Perin presented the challenges CAHOOTS is facing from recent uncertainties surrounding its future, she said that the challenge now “is finding an exit ramp so that CAHOOTS’ future is no longer tied to White Bird’s future.”
“We have been in contact with our national allies, advisors who are explaining what the steps are to be able to create an organization, and currently just looking for a fiscal sponsor who would be able to move us forward and also getting legal advice on what that would look like,” Perin said.
A lasting effect on the community
Cheechov said she got her EMT certification when she was 18 and waited five years to work for CAHOOTS. She was hired last summer as soon as she turned 23 and then was laid off on April 7.
“My initial thoughts were, of course, for our community and the clients that we serve, and just a lot of unknowns about what showing up for them will look like, who will show up for them if anyone will show up for them now,” Cheechov said.
Cheechov said her team’s commitment to showing up for their clients quickly instilled in her, changing her as a medic and a person. She hopes the community continues staying together and was encouraged to see the number of people supporting CAHOOTS and its future.
“It was really devastating to see the people I love and care about the most lose their jobs,” Cheechov said. “But also to watch them grieve this program that’s so near and dear to them, that’s so revolutionary (and) so important in this moment in history now more than ever. It’s a huge symbolic loss for not just Eugene but for the whole country.”
Perin said it’s hard to say what the future holds for CAHOOTS, the community reliant on its services and all the workers who were laid off. She hopes to continue supporting those dealing with a difficult time and regroup, staying in solidarity with each other and their mission.
For Rohlfs, she hopes the public has a better understanding of CAHOOTS’ services, its impact in Eugene and the steps they can take to support its restoration efforts.
“I hope the community feels called to action to call their city representatives, to tell their friends to be in community with one another and look after each other while we’re away,” Cheechov said. “But in the hopes that we can return to the streets as soon as possible and keep doing what we love to do and what we’re really good at.”
