Racism is a public health crisis in this country, and nowhere is that more evident than in Portland, Oregon. Our state has a unique history of white supremacy. BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) in Portland have worse health outcomes and lower access to healthcare than white residents. Racism is a chronic stressor that contributes to the development of chronic diseases like addiction.
Our state ranks among the lowest in the nation for our lackluster addiction treatment services. For communities disproportionately impacted by addiction, that is especially bad news.
At Shanti Recovery and Wellness, we are committed to providing evidence-based addiction treatment services to everyone in our community. Part of that work means acknowledging the systemic inequality that BIPOC and other marginalized communities have faced in accessing health care in our city and actively working to correct course.
Today, we’ll look at the top six addiction treatment and recovery resources for BIPOC in Portland, Oregon. We regularly partner with these organizations as part of the culturally responsive care team for our patients.
NARA – Native American Rehabilitation Association
NARA has been providing culturally appropriate health care to the Native American and Alaskan Native population of Oregon since 1970. They currently operate outpatient, inpatient, and youth-focused treatment programs in Portland. NARA places native spirituality and family at the center of their treatment planning because they believe that “without the family circle, there will be no future.”
The Miracles Club
In operation since 1993, The Miracles Club has managed a recovery community center, peer support services, and several recovery housing programs created by and for the African American community in Portland, OR. In addition to two NE Portland apartment housing complexes, The Miracles Club just opened a new nine-bed transitional recovery home for African American men in the Alberta Arts District.
Asian Health & Service Center
The Asian Health and Service Center serves Portland’s rapidly growing Asian community with an integrated services model that includes health care and other community support such as a culturally specific pre-school. Their mental health services include addiction treatment support and they can provide assistance in Cantonese, English, Korean, Mandarin, or Taiwanese. They also offer low-cost naturopathic and Chinese medicine services as complementary care.
Bienestar de la Familia
Bienestar de la Familia is a Multnomah County program that specializes in mental health, addiction services, case management, food distribution, and afterschool programs for the Latino community of Portland, Oregon. All of their staff is bicultural and bilingual. In addition to Spanish, they also offer services in Somali.
NWFS – NorthWest Family Services
NWFS is another organization that offers outpatient alcohol and drug treatment services and culturally appropriate assessments in English or in Spanish for the Latino community.
OHSU’s Intercultural Psychiatric Clinic
The Intercultural Psychiatric Clinic located in the Lloyd Center in NE Portland serves Portland’s immigrant and refugee communities with culturally competent care. Their team of counselors is multilingual and their clinic is set up to help immigrants coordinate language interpretation across their care team. They also run the Torture Treatment Center of Oregon (TTCO) which specializes in health care designed especially for survivors of torture.
We’re Here to Help
At Shanti Recovery and Wellness, we’re committed to making evidence-based addiction treatment and mental health services available to everyone in our community. If we can’t help with the type of care you require, we are happy to point you in the right direction to another organization that can. Give us a call today at (503) 206-8850.