The Washington state Legislature is struggling to balance its checkbook, and with at least $6 billion in cuts ahead, funding for many state programs is on the chopping block.
One such program is the Recovery Navigator Program (RNP), a law enforcement resource that addresses mental health and substance use disorders.
For a long time, police in Lewis County had limited options when addressing the mental health crisis or substance abuse issues. Calls often ended in a trip to the local jail. The person might be charged with a minor crime or do a short stay in prison before being released.
Without treatment, they were likely to be picked up by law enforcement again.
But in 2023, the Great Rivers Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organization contracted Destination Hope and Recovery to be the local RNP provider for Lewis County.
Now, if an officer in Lewis County responds to a house call and finds someone in crisis due to mental health or substance use, they can call or make a referral as an alternative to an arrest.
“The purpose was to really be a law enforcement assisted diversion program, and its activities were designed to engage the individual, build rapport and deflect into other systems that may be more helpful to an individual versus going to jail,” Trinidad Medina, chief executive officer of Great Rivers Behavioral Health, said.
The Recovery Navigator Program was implemented in 2022 and was created in response to a Washington state Supreme Court decision known as Washington state v. Blake, which struck down a Washington law making simple possession of certain drugs a crime. The state recriminalized possession, but also passed legislation to create the Recovery Navigator Program as a law enforcement resource.
Now, that statewide program, including the local provider Destination Hope and Recovery, is at risk of major funding cuts. The current operating budget proposed by the Washington state House of Representatives calls for a 10% funding cut, while a proposal from Gov. Bob Ferguson calls for a 50% cut. The current budget proposal from the state Senate cuts funding to the program entirely.
Destination Hope and Recovery is not a mental health provider, but provides peer counseling and helps clients access resources such as treatment programs, housing assistance and more.
The organization first started doing social work in Grays Harbor County in 2021 but moved into their office in Lewis County in September 2023 — around the same time that they became the RNP provider for the area. They’re now the RNP provider for five counties in Southwest Washington, including Lewis, Wahkiakum, Pacific, Grays Harbor and Cowlitz.
Peers, which make up most of the company's employees, are people who have recovered from past mental health or substance use disorders and now use that experience to help clients. They engage in outreach with law enforcement and by themselves while also responding to referrals and checking up on clients.
“One of the benefits to the program is that individuals with lived experience are the ones that are working out in the field, doing the outreach and engagement,” Medina said. “There's an opportunity for better rapport building in being able to make that connection with those individuals and assist through that treatment process that that peer or that outreach worker has gone through themselves.”
Since 2023, the organization has worked with local law enforcement to respond to calls and do local outreach in the community to people who need help, including those without a home. The goal for the program is to prevent repeated arrests and instead make progress toward rehabilitation by deflecting people away from jails or incarceration and instead give them access to treatment or other resources.
“It definitely is a program that shows its value in assisting those partners in public health and public safety in saving costs and working toward results, versus just cycling through that continuous system,” Robin Cozad, co-owner of Destination Hope and Recovery, said. “It wasn't intended as a homelessness program, but we certainly serve a lot of individuals who experience homelessness, with which compounds all of those other issues.”
Lewis County Sheriff Robert Snaza and Centralia Police Chief Andy Caldwell and Chehalis police Chief Randy Kaut recently signed letters sent to the state Senate Ways and Means Committee asking that the Senate reconsider cutting the program.
“The organization Destination Hope and Recovery is a remarkable organization that has done great things for our city. When we saw them take over the program, we saw them get out to people and ask them what they need,” Caldwell said. “We don't need more services in our community, but the one that we have that works, don't cut them.”
Local law enforcement officials were skeptical of the program and the new provider at first, having not seen the results they expected with previous providers. In order to build trust, Destination Hope and Recovery offered an open door policy inviting local law enforcement into their offices to see the operation. Local police from the Centralia and Chehalis Police Departments now have a strong working relationship with Destination Hope and Recovery and attest to the organization's commitment.
“It's a little frustrating. Out of all the things to remove from the state budget, I think this is one of the last things they should be touching,” Kaut said. “They want the police to step away from these kinds of roles but then want to cut these types of things.”
