Seattle to open short-term recovery center for people after a fentanyl overdose
SEATTLE– Seattle will open a new space where people can recover and receive treatment for nearly 24 hours after overdosing on fentanyl or other drugs, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced Thursday.
The center will open in mid-2025 near the Pioneer Square neighborhood and will be operated by a nonprofit homelessness and substance abuse organization called the Downtown Emergency Services Center.
In the first four months of this year, emergency responders treated nearly 2,500 opioid overdoses in King County, including Seattle, KUOW reported. During the same period, more than 200 deaths were recorded from opioid-related overdoses.
Deaths from opioid overdoses caused by heroin, fentanyl and oxycodone have increased dramatically in the city, state and across the US. In Portland, Oregon, elected leaders declared a state of emergency earlier this year due to the public health and public safety crisis fueled by fentanyl.
Seattle emergency responders, once the center is open, will offer to take people there after an overdose and treatment with Narcan, a nasal spray that can reverse the effects of opioids.
A dose of Narcan can cause intense withdrawal symptoms and may lead people to use more fentanyl. City officials and service providers said the new space, called the Overdose Recovery and Care Access center, will provide a safe place to recover as well as services.
“The conditions we see on our streets due to fentanyl require every level of government to step up in advancing urgent compassionate, loving and innovative solutions,” Harrell said.
People who go to the center can stay for up to 23 hours and have access to medical care and treatment options, from buprenorphine, which can ease withdrawal symptoms, to a first round of methadone, the most common treatment for opioid use disorder. Officials estimate the site will serve 20 to 25 customers per day.
The Downtown Emergency Services Center will receive $5.65 million to open the center. In addition, Evergreen Treatment Services will receive $1.35 million to operate a mobile clinic, which will bring medications to people where they are.
The money comes from a federal grant and is part of a $27 million investment committed by Harrell’s administration to address the fentanyl crisis. Health care workers and first responders said Thursday they expected interest in the center to be strong, The Seattle Times reported.
Dr. Caleb Banta-Green, director of the University of Washington Center for Community-Engaged Drug Education, Epidemiology and Research, said he doesn’t expect anyone to need much convincing to come to the center. The feeling of withdrawal after receiving a dose of Narcan is so powerful that most people will seek help, he said.
“What we think is that if we offer a great place and the word starts to spread, people will want to come here,” he said.