Set to open to the public Feb. 21, Great Circle Recovery Clinic addresses ongoing opioid crisis
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde is bringing its whole-person opioid addiction treatment to Portland.
Dozens attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the tribe’s second Great Circle Recovery clinic Feb. 6, including county and tribal officials. Set to open to the public Feb. 21, tribal officials and community members say the Southeast Portland clinic, which offers same-day care, is an important component of addressing the ongoing opioid crisis in Portland.
Great Circle Recovery clinic
The new clinic, at 3580 SE 82nd Ave. near TriMet bus lines 9 and 72, serves both Native and non-Native community members seeking help with opioid addiction. Great Circle Recovery, the only tribally operated opioid treatment program in Oregon, provides Native American peoples the culturally specific care most substance use treatment services lack.
Kelly Rowe, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde executive director of Health Services, said county officials were helpful in securing the clinic’s location.
“The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde had a vision of bringing a culturally responsive opioid treatment program to its people,” Rowe said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “We know that to make healthy environments for our clients, we must treat the community as well.”
Multnomah County Commissioner Diane Rosenbaum echoed the community importance of the new facility.
“Here we stand at a not too long ago underutilized space, but now it’s becoming a healing center,” Rosenbaum told the crowd.
Grande Ronde tribal officials thanked Portland and Multnomah County elected officials for their assistance and cooperation in opening the clinic, including former Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury.
Cheryle A. Kennedy, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde chairwoman, said the clinic will serve to improve the health of the entire community, emphasizing the opioid crisis is primarily impacting youth but also elders.
“I'm so thankful, with a grateful heart, with a humble heart,” Kennedy told the crowd. “I want to show appreciation to all of our staff who have come together here to do an honorable work, to do a noble work.”
The whole-person approach
The Great Circle Recovery clinic takes a “whole-person” approach to treating addiction, which integrates counseling, individual and group therapy, peer support, medication-assisted treatment and referrals to services assisting with overcoming other barriers to recovery, such as food and housing insecurity.
Medication-assisted treatment comes in the form of medications a person can wean off of over time, like methadone or suboxone, which stave off symptoms of opioid withdrawal. A patient who qualifies for and accepts medication-assisted treatment would visit the clinic to receive monitored doses and access Great Circle Recovery’s other support services.
Coming full circle
In her initial remarks, Kennedy reminded the crowd the clinic is located in the tribe’s ancestral homelands, adding the U.S. government is failing to sufficiently uphold its treaty obligations to the tribe.
“(They assured us) that we could have a place that we would live peaceably, that we would not be harmed, that we would be provided health forever, we would be provided education forever, that we would be provided a place where we could be self-sufficient,” Kennedy, who’s worked for decades to improve access to health care for Native peoples in Oregon and throughout the Pacific Northwest, said. “Those are all language that’s in our treaties. Are they upheld today? No.”
To bridge the gap in health services the federal government fails to provide, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde operates several health clinics, including the Great Circle Recovery clinic in Salem and a more expansive clinic in Grand Ronde offering a host of services, including dental and eye care.
Kennedy said despite efforts to sever ties between the tribe and its ancestral homelands, the tribe’s enduring presence is evident in local place names and the many tribal members living in the area, one of the reasons the tribe opened its second clinic in Portland.
“All of it was because we have a commitment to the Native people, I believe we really do, and there's no one else really stepping up to say 'hey, we're here to help you,'” Kennedy said. “So I’m just thrilled that we’re able to do this here, in a populated area, one that has a lot of our people.”
Fatal opioid overdoses among Native Americans and Alaska Natives increased by 39% between 2019 and 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Only one in 10 Native American or Alaska Native people with addiction received substance abuse treatment.
Among existing substance use treatment programs, few are culturally specific, particularly for Native peoples. Opioid overdose rates were actually higher in areas with greater availability of opioid treatment programs compared to areas with fewer programs, particularly among Native American, Alaska Native and Black communities, according to the CDC.
“Higher availability of treatment services does not mean improved access to care,” the CDC found. “The known differences in access, barriers to care, and health care mistrust could play a role in exacerbating inequities even when treatment is available in the community.”
Kennedy said the Great Circle Recovery clinics seek to address the gap in culturally specific care for Native people.
“Ceremonies are honored and encouraged,” Kennedy said. “Knowing that the family support is key to our recovery, and not trying to isolate. You know, sometimes in other (programs), you're isolated, they tell you ‘You need to break that off.’
“In Native communities, that's part of your healing.”
Facing a crisis
Oregon is battling an opioid crisis claiming hundreds of lives each year. Although detailed data from 2022 is not yet available, opioid-related deaths in Oregon more than tripled between 2019 and 2021.
There aren’t enough drug treatment programs to meet the skyrocketing need, particularly in the face of synthetically manufactured and notoriously potent fentanyl.
Given the magnitude and pervasiveness of opioid addiction, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde says it is prioritizing community health and wellbeing by opening these opioid treatment clinics — the Salem location treats more than 200 patients daily.
Kennedy told Street Roots she is thrilled to open the second Great Circle Recovery clinic, describing the decades-long journey she took to realize her dream of providing this level of culturally specific support to her community.
“So (I) always, always had this dream, this vision,” Kennedy said. “(And) we got to take the stigma away from it, we got to face it like we do everything; because we as Indian people, we're strong, we're able, once we set our mind to something, it's ‘Get it done.’
“There's no stopping us. So I knew that's where we have to be in order to overcome this killer.”
Supports, big and small
Those working at the clinic aim to make it a welcoming and comfortable environment for all who walk through its doors.
Josiah Cornell, a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and of Klamath/Modoc descent, is a urinalysis technician at the Great Circle Recovery clinic in Salem. Cornell attended the Portland clinic ribbon-cutting to show his support.
Cornell is one of the first faces a new client encounters at the Salem clinic. Potential patients undergo urinalysis to determine what substances they use to inform possible treatment options.
Cornell dedicates himself to being a much-needed friendly smile and comforting presence for the people he encounters at the clinic, who are in a vulnerable position as they take the first steps to seek help with addiction.
“No matter where you’re at in your journey, the fact that you’re coming through those doors shows that you care about your future,” Cornell said.
Cornell said the harm reduction services offered at the clinic save lives, and he’s excited to see how the new clinic impacts the Portland community.
Cornell sees his job not just as performing urinalysis tests but as making clients feel seen, heard and comfortable.
Seemingly small acts like a smile or a wave hello — acts that acknowledge mutual humanity — can have an incredible impact on a struggling person, Cornell said.
“A simple smile,” Cornell said. “That can change your mindset throughout the rest of the day. Like I said, if it's a Monday, boom — now you've got Monday started off right. That can lead into a good Tuesday, a good Wednesday, a good Thursday, a good Friday; now we're gonna have a great weekend.”
Cornell began working in addiction treatment more than seven years ago. He’s passionate about helping others recover from addiction because he’s “been in their shoes.” Cornell knows firsthand the importance of this type of support, as he is also on a recovery journey.
“It’s something that keeps me going every day because it’s a place where I found myself (in the past) just like the clientele that we have,” Cornell said. “I found myself reaching out for a place to come to, to feel safe, to help get my life back on track, and a place that’s just warm, out of the weather, out of the elements here in the Northwest.”
Cornell said those skeptical of the type of medication-assisted treatment Great Circle Recovery provides aren’t seeing the lives saved at the clinic.
“Sure, there's gonna be people with their opinions,” Cornell said. “That ‘Oh, alls you’re doing is drugging these people,’ or ‘You're not helping them out.’ But they don't understand that some of these clients may not be here with us today if they hadn't walked through those doors.
“That harm reduction that we've implemented within their life could have saved their life; it could have given them their life back.”
Cornell said the stigma around addiction is especially harmful, emphasizing addiction knows no boundaries, impacting people both housed and unhoused. Many of the clients Cornell sees are working to support a family.
“We've got to open people's eyes to we're all human; I mean, it can happen to anyone,” Cornell said.
The Great Circle Recovery clinic is located at 3580 SE 82nd Avenue in Portland. The clinic will open February 21. It will be open Monday through Saturday. It offers same-day treatment (arrive by 11 a.m.). The clinic will accept Oregon Health Plan (OHP) and can provide assistance on other financial aid. The clinic is located near TriMet bus lines 9 and 72. To reach the clinic, call 971-339-9240.
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