In times of crisis, White Bird is a key agency in the continuum of care for our community. We are Lane Countys Crisis Intervention Service. We are CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) the Mobile Crisis and Medic response team for Eugene-Springfields Public Safety System. We are a member of Lane County Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD).
Learn how White Bird Clinic is innovating in response to the shifting needs of our community during COVID-19 and offering humanistic healthcare and supportive services via phone and videoconference in this Oregon Primary Care Association article.
Out of this effort came White Bird Socio-medical Aid Station (later White Bird Clinic), incorporated in February 1970 as a 501(c)3 non-profit agency. With the help of many volunteers, the group was able to rent a house, staff it 24/7, train folks in crisis intervention, hold medical clinics with doctors and nurses, offer legal advice with lawyers and paralegals, and guide drug experiences in a safe and supportive way. Word quickly spread that this was a place with caring and helpful people who didnt ask for money and who didnt judge or lecture.
What began as a grassroots effort evolved over time from being an experiment to a key agency in the community continuum of care, becoming credible to the larger community and finding funding from various sources including federal, state and local governments and foundations.
CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) provides mobile crisis intervention 24/7 in the Eugene-Springfield Metro area. CAHOOTS is dispatched through the Eugene police-fire-ambulance communications center, and within the Springfield urban growth boundary, dispatched through the Springfield non-emergency number.Each team consists of a medic (either a nurse or an EMT) & a crisis worker (who has at least several years experience in the mental health field).
CAHOOTS provides immediate stabilization in case of urgent medical need or psychological crisis, assessment, information, referral, advocacy & (in some cases) transportation to the next step in treatment. Any person who reports a crime in progress, violence, or a life-threatening emergency may receive a response from the police or emergency medical services instead of or in addition to CAHOOTS.
The power of White Birds CAHOOTS program lies in its community relationships and the ability of first responders to simply ask, How can I support you today? White Bird Clinic is proud to be a part of spreading this type of response across Oregon and the rest of the United States.