Clackamas County and Milwaukie officials on March 2025 presented details of a planned 24-hour stabilization center at a county-owned former corrections facility and said they are working on transportation, intake and discharge protocols before opening.

The city manager, Emma Sager, and Mary Rumbaugh, director of the Clackamas County Health, Housing and Human Services Division, described the project as two complementary components: a 23-hour stabilization program for people in acute crisis and a separate up-to-60-day housing-and-case-management stabilization program.

The project will be located at a sheriff's office facility at 9200 Southeast McBroad Avenue, Rumbaugh said. "Last session, we actually received $4,000,000 from the legislature, for the construction of the building," she said, and added that a coordinated-care organization has committed ongoing funding.

Why it matters: County and city officials said the center is intended to give first responders and mobile crisis teams an alternative to jails and emergency rooms for people experiencing acute behavioral-health crises. That raises operational questions about referrals, transport and where clients go next after stabilization — issues officials said they are addressing now.

Details and next steps

Rumbaugh said Clarita (operating in other states, including Idaho) will operate the 23-hour side; The Father's Heart will operate the housing-and-case-management side for up to 60 days with 13 beds. "We do not have walk-up ability," Rumbaugh said of intake; priority referral sources for the 23-hour unit will be law enforcement drop-offs and mobile crisis teams. She said the intent is to avoid placing people in jail or hospitals when mobile teams can't stabilize them in the community.

Sager said the city and county have met regularly to review provider policies and a 'good neighbor' agreement and to coordinate communications with nearby neighborhoods. "We will be finalizing the Good Neighbor grama now that those providers are on board," she said, adding that chief-level conversations have included intake and discharge workflows, transportation and security.

Councilors pressed officials on transportation and post-discharge connections. Councilor Stavenger asked whether the county has trauma-informed transportation plans so people are not left "dumped on the street" after de-escalation. Rumbaugh said options include nonemergency medical transport for insured clients, Lyft-style rides for others and referrals to the county's coordinated housing access. She added the county would reassess its budget to cover needed transportation services.

County and city staff also said they will track post-opening local impacts such as 911 or medical calls near the site to identify operational adjustments. Sager said city staff and the county will meet biweekly with providers to refine policies; framing and construction were underway and framing was expected to begin soon.

What officials did not say

No firm opening date was given and officials emphasized there will be follow-up meetings to finalize intake, discharge and transportation protocols. Rumbaugh said the shelter portion is limited to 13 beds and the 23-hour center typically averages 10'11 hours of stay, but officials declined to commit to a precise opening timeline during the presentation.

Voices from the meeting

Mary Rumbaugh, director, Clackamas County Health, Housing and Human Services Division: "The stabilization center ... is a sort of a joint project, with the sheriff's office."

Emma Sager, Milwaukie City Manager: "We will be finalizing the Good Neighbor grama now that those providers are on board, and then restart communications and outreach so folks know what's coming."