Whatcom County executive issues order addressing the worsening fentanyl crisis
Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu issued an executive order Wednesday addressing the fentanyl crisis and describing several immediate steps that are being taken or are underway.
Sidhu’s statement comes as the County Council, under the guidance of members Ben Elenbaas and Barry Buchanan, has been working on a resolution that declares the fentanyl epidemic an emergency and identifies several steps toward addressing it. That measure passed unanimously Tuesday night.
“Fentanyl is a pernicious poison that is wreaking havoc in our community. Its human toll is devastating. We must intensify our response to correspond to the magnitude of the crisis, and that is what I aim to do today,” Sidhu said in a statement accompanying his order.
Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, is about 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
A total of 136 people died from overdoses of all kinds in Whatcom County last year, up from 91 deaths in 2022, according to the Whatcom County medical examiner. That 43% increase was fueled by cheap and easily available opioids such as fentanyl, coupled with growing misery among the area’s poorest and most vulnerable people.
Homelessness rose 27% in Whatcom County last year, according to the Whatcom County Department of Health and Human Services. Nearly half of Whatcom County residents, 40%, were poor or “income constrained,” according to the United Way.
In his statement Wednesday, Sidhu said the countywide focus would be on prevention, intervention, treatment and aftercare.
Kayla Schott-Bresler, recently named deputy county executive, told The Bellingham Herald that Sidhu was prioritizing two key areas:
▪ Developing a support program to help people immediately after they suffer an overdose.
▪ Locating a temporary home for a planned 23-hour crisis relief center. Whatcom County has received $11 million from the state to build such a center, which is an alternative to hospital emergency departments. Patients are treated or observed for less than 24 hours.
“The most immediate thing is expanding our capacity for post-overdose support. What are we doing to support the person in the first hours after an overdose? A lot of people don’t have a home and don’t have a support network,” Schott-Bresler said in a phone interview.
Schott-Bresler said that Sidhu will be working closely with Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund, who recently issued her own executive order addressing the opioid crisis.
His executive order listed several programs and facilities designed to address the overdose crisis:
▪ “Re-entry” specialists at the jail to support people upon release.
▪ The Anne Deacon Center has detox and behavioral support.
▪ A Co-Responder program and Alternative Response Team answer 911 calls that don’t require police.
▪ A Street Medicine team goes into the field.
▪ Both the Ground-level Response and Coordinated Engagement and Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion programs have been expanded.
▪ Mental Health Court has been expanded to include mental health sentencing alternatives.
▪ Nearly 12,000 doses of Narcan have been given away.
▪ Whatcom County has convened a Multi-Agency Coordination Group and hired an opioid response specialist.
In a committee discussion on the County Council’s opioid measure Tuesday afternoon, a member of the Lummi Nation government praised local officials for what he said was trailblazing work on ways to fight the opioid epidemic.
Nick Lewis, a member of the Lummi Indian business council and chairman of the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, said Bellingham and Whatcom County are setting policy of “helping but not enabling,” and that other cities are taking notice.
“How you have done this has now become a template for so many other places. Seattle is following your suit in the very near future. Portland is revisiting their stance to follow what Whatcom County has done,” Lewis told the council.
Lummi Nation opened an opioid treatment center last year, and has declared a state of emergency regarding the epidemic.
