Eugene officials, residents press to restore CAHOOTS after White Bird ends contract

Mayor Knudson told the Eugene City Council on April 14 that the city did not initiate the termination of the contract that supported the CAHOOTS mobile crisis response team and that White Bird notified the city on March 25 it would reduce services and lay off staff, prompting a mutual contract termination effective April 7.

The termination left a gap in Eugene’s non-police crisis response and prompted a lengthy public comment period in which more than 80 people, including clinicians, CAHOOTS workers and people with lived experience, urged the council to restore or immediately fund CAHOOTS. Residents said the program saves lives and cannot be replaced by the county’s new mobile crisis service alone.

Why it matters: CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets), operated historically through the White Bird Clinic in partnership with the City of Eugene, has been cited as a national model for non-police crisis response. Councilors and multiple public speakers said the program’s combination of crisis counseling, medical triage, transportation and housing navigation is not matched by the county’s mobile crisis teams.

Mayor Knudson summarized the sequence that led to the change: after White Bird’s March 25…