As Oregon’s drug decriminalization experiment comes to an end with the implementation of HB 4002, Dr. Kerri Hecox, founder and medical director of Oasis Center of the Rogue Valley, believes the new law, coupled with an infusion of funding, could help families struggling with generational addiction and trauma gain access to life-changing treatment.

Located in one of Medford’s poorest, crime-riddled neighborhoods, the nonprofit recovery center is one of a handful nationwide providing comprehensive, “wrap-around” care for “system-involved” families.

“Many people are not getting arrested for possession crimes,” Hecox said. “They’re getting arrested for a lot of property and theft crimes related to their substance abuse. If we were to intervene and get them into treatment, they could potentially break out of that lifestyle.”

According to a recent study by the Northwest Center for Family Support (NCFS), 2.2 million children are currently impacted by opioid use disorder. “Without policies and interventions that support effective prevention, treatment, and recovery, by 2030, 4.3 million children will be affected by opioid use in the U.S.”

Unlike treatment centers that focus on the individual, the Oasis model offers a family-centered, two-generation approach to disrupt the cycle of multigenerational poverty, addiction and trauma.

In 2019, after working for five years as a child abuse medical examiner for Jackson County, Hecox co-founded Oasis Clinic. In less than five years, Oasis has expanded into a sprawling center, called “the campus,” providing medical care, addiction treatment, temporary housing for people (particularly pregnant women) waiting for residential treatment, coordination of community resources, and its newest program, the Little Acorns toddler and preschool classroom.

The NCFS study acknowledged that while family-centered treatment and preventive interventions for parents with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) are met with enthusiasm, the policy, capacity and funding restraints have curtailed many attempts. While many centers struggle, Oasis has been able to continue to grow.

“We are fortunate to have strong, collaborative partnerships that enable us to provide extensive services for our (approximately) 1,000 patients, with a third of them pediatric,” Hecox said.

On a chilly spring morning, Hecox and executive director Kristen Johnson stood at the entry to the sprawling block-long center. Six feet from the door, a small commercial refrigerator stocked with bins of organic broccoli, potatoes, celery and carrots stood next to the reception desk.

Working in collaboration with the Family Nurturing Center Farm and Food Program, Oasis provides fresh organic produce to patients, daily meals for Little Acorns preschool, and therapeutic programs for families to grow, prepare and share healthy meals while strengthening parent-child relationships.

Pulling a recipe from a folder taped to the door, Johnson added, “Healthy food is critical for addiction recovery as well as the physical and cognitive health of children, but for many of our patients, cooking with fresh vegetables can be intimidating. Recipes make it easier for them to try something new.”

Across the large entry, morning light flooded into a large baby-blue room surrounded by a four-foot-high pony. Inside, a miniature basketball hoop, chalkboards, toddler-sized tables, overstuffed couches, and a six-foot bear drooped over a yellow play structure are arranged to provide developmentally appropriate play areas where children can explore and process.

“This is our Family Room,” Hecox said. “We designed an open floor plan so staff can supervise children while their parents privately discuss issues not appropriate for them to hear. Plus, it allows our providers to observe and tailor our services to their individual needs.”

In addition to providing child care, Oasis partners with Jackson County Early Intervention (EI) to host informal early intervention playgroups modeling age-appropriate exercises while fostering community building among families in recovery. Since the program’s inception, follow-up with Jackson County Early Intervention has increased nearly 50%.

With 30% of Oasis patients involved with child welfare, community justice, or both, this nonpunitive approach is a drastic change from Hecox’s previous positions in settings where social service and law enforcement agencies had little engagement in recovery work.

A cornerstone of the Oasis approach is their Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT). Though based on the Family Court model, a justice system program that coordinates and addresses the various system requirements for families, the Oasis MDT is not mandatory or court-required.

“Oasis MDT develops a unified plan meeting the various requirements of the different agencies — a probation officer, a child welfare worker, a self-sufficiency specialist and their SUD treatment team — and most importantly, I think, creates a sense that all of these agencies are working as a team to support the patient to create a better life for themselves and their children,” Hecox said.

Kim, a 45-year-old mother of four, is part of the MDT program. For almost three decades, her addictions led to homelessness, destructive relationships, exchanging sex for drugs, dealing and stealing. Five years ago, credit card fraud landed Kim in prison, pregnant with her youngest son. Upon release, she became an Oasis patient.

Choking back, tears Kim confided, “This is the first place I’ve felt like I mattered, where providers aren’t punching a time clock and collecting a check.”

Dr. Karen Scott, the president of the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE), affirmed Kim’s experience, describing how women like Kim frequently choose abusive and predatory relationships over being shamed or judged for being an addict.

Recently, Kim’s addiction cycle started spiraling out of control.

“I wasn’t in a good place,” Kim said. “Me and my kids were living in a hotel. We were about to get evicted because of our (13) cats. Dr. Hecox was so great! She came and got the cats, adopted the kittens, and got the adults fixed. At my next appointment, she told me, either you make the call, or I will.”

That “call” was to Child Welfare.

Hecox said there is a delicate balance between being firm yet compassionate and allowing people to have agency over their lives. When a patient’s drug use adversely affects their kids, Hecox will tell them, “Child Welfare needs to be contacted.”

For Kim, this agency has enabled her to take the first step to gaining control over her life.

“I now have a team to help me! I’ve never had a team of people behind me before,” she said.

Scott commended Oasis’s approach.

“Most programs aren’t equipped to deliver such comprehensive care. When recovery centers allow patients to engage agencies early on, it reduces the chances of social services reflexively deciding to separate the family,” Scott said.

For Hecox, working closely with law enforcement is integral to the mission of Oasis.

“The more we communicate and support them in a better understanding of how addiction and trauma affect the brain, it helps law enforcement lead with compassion, which in turn helps the person make better choices,” she said.

Jackson County Sheriff Nate Sickler said partnerships with centers such as Oasis are key to creating a safe, livable county.

“If people were to make assumptions about, hey, here’s this conservative sheriff, and a doctor who wants to save lives, they might not consider that our common ground is the best way to address an issue threatening families across our community,” he said. “I don’t think anybody has any idea what’s coming in the next few years. If we are to break this cycle, mental health providers, substance use disorder experts and law enforcement have to work together.”

When Hecox was asked what she hopes will occur with the implementation of HB 4002, she replied, “If we want to change the trajectory of these families, we need to bring together as many resources as we can and be ready to support them when they are ready to change. It’s the only way we can break the cycle and provide a different life for the next generation.”