EDMONDS — Like so many other cities, Edmonds knows the challenges of the opioid crisis and homelessness.
The City Council is putting half a million dollars toward addressing those issues.
At its March 27 meeting, the council unanimously approved creating one-time funds of $250,000 each for opioid and homelessness response. Back in November 2017, the money was included as part of the budget, bolstering the work already done by police, a social worker, public works and South Snohomish County Fire & Rescue.
“Even though people tend to think of us as ferry boats and art galleries and great restaurants, Edmonds has opioid abuse, too,” Councilwoman Adrienne Fraley-Monillas said.
“Getting ahead of this may save everybody money in the long run.”
The new funds aren’t allocated into specific spending yet, but their creation marks a beginning, officials said.
The money “alone is not going to solve it, of course not,” Council President Mike Nelson said. “We want to start to do something.”
The new Edmonds task force met last week with Snohomish Health District Administrator Jeff Ketchel.
Last year, the health district joined in an inter-agency effort to stop Snohomish County’s opioid epidemic. Health Officer Dr. Mark Beatty is working with doctors and hospitals to collect data about overdoses, emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
Understanding the scope of the issue can create a better response, Ketchel said.
One of the pressing needs is to have funds and services at the ready for someone willing to get help.
“The moment somebody has that clarity that, ‘This is not the life I want to live,’ can we really provide that at a moment’s notice?” Ketchel said. “Oftentimes that moment of clarity comes and goes … We’re really being opportunistic at those moments.”
The new fund allows Edmonds to act quickly to understand how the city can intervene before addiction takes hold.
“Generally what we’re seeing with kids is it starts at home,” said Fraley-Monillas, who is also the chairwoman of the Snohomish Health District board and spent three decades working for the state Department of Social and Health Services. “It starts in Grandma’s medicine cabinet and places where they have easier access. Then it moves to the heroin trade.”
As a countywide issue in 2016 alone, 2,390 patients were treated at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett for problems with opioids or narcotics. Between 2014 and early 2017, 63 percent of the 6,932 patients treated for opioid or narcotic problems were younger than 30.
“We view opioids as a disease, like whooping cough or obesity or smoking or car-injury deaths.” Ketchel said. “We all view these as diseases and public health issues that really pay no attention to political boundaries. … No one community is going to remain immune from the collateral damage.”
Nelson said he and other city leaders hear from people in Edmonds whose loved ones have overdosed, from residents frustrated with property crimes and finding needles in parks, and from businesses seeing people sleeping in their doorways.
Homelessness has been less visible, Fraley-Monillas said. Yet she can drive five minutes to a camp where there are at least 20 people.
“If you go to our cold weather shelter when it’s activated, you trip over people. It’s overflowing,” Nelson said.
On Friday, the Edmonds task force planned to review applications from consultants for a $25,000 contract.
Ben Watanabe: bwatanabe@heraldnet.com; 425-339-3037; Twitter @benwatanabe
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