Hundreds rally after White Bird/CAHOOTS notifies city it will cut services; council says it did not initiate termination

Mayor Knudson told a packed April 14 Eugene City Council meeting that White Bird Clinic informed the city on March 25 that it would reduce CAHOOTS services and lay off staff, and that the city did not initiate the program's discontinuation. "The city of Eugene did not initiate the, the discontinuation of Kahoot's service within Eugene," the mayor said as the council opened a nearly three-hour public comment period dominated by appeals to restore the service.

Why it matters: CAHOOTS (a mobile crisis response program operated by White Bird Clinic) has been a visible part of Eugene’s nonpolice crisis response for decades. Speakers and councilors said the program’s abrupt reduction will leave a gap for unhoused residents and people in mental-health crisis, and will shift demand onto police, emergency medical services and county mobile crisis teams that speakers said are not full substitutes.

During a briefing before public comment, the mayor said the city and White Bird agreed to a mutual contract termination…