Eastern Oregon Gets $1.05 Million to Expand Addiction and Recovery Services

More than $1 million in new federal funding is headed to Eastern Oregon to expand addiction treatment and recovery services in one of the state's most thinly served regions.

U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced on Oct. 8 that $1.05 million in awards from the Health Resources and Services Administration's Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) will go to the Oregon Washington Health Network, a nonprofit based in Pendleton that works on health equity across Umatilla, Union and Morrow counties in Oregon and Walla Walla County in Washington.

The money will be used to improve access to treatment and recovery services for substance use disorder and opioid use disorder, the senators' offices said.

"Communities need access to addiction and treatment services, and this critical support will help Pendleton improve access to critical services for opioid use disorder," Merkley said. Wyden called the opioid epidemic a burden that falls hardest on rural areas "that often have limited addiction treatment resources."

What the award actually pays for

The $1.05 million is really two grants, not one. According to HRSA's published FY2026 award lists, the Oregon Washington Health Network will receive:

• $750,000 through RCORP-Impact, the program's largest track, which funds integrated and coordinated substance use disorder treatment and recovery services, workforce development and community networks built to sustain recovery.
• $300,000 through RCORP-Overdose Response, which helps rural communities address immediate needs such as reducing overdose risk and strengthening access to prevention, treatment and recovery.

HRSA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced roughly $89.3 million in RCORP awards for fiscal year 2026 in September, during National Recovery Month. The round reached rural communities in 45 states and one territory and was framed around the administration's "Great American Recovery" initiative. RCORP is a multi-year effort administered by HRSA's Federal Office of Rural Health Policy; the agency describes it as supporting locally driven solutions built through partnerships among providers, community organizations and local stakeholders.

That structure is the point. Rather than handing a single clinic a check, RCORP-Impact asks grantees to stand up networks — the kinds of partnerships that let a rural county pool scarce counselors, prescribers and peer supports instead of each program operating alone.

Why rural access is a different problem

HRSA Administrator Tom Engels said in announcing the national round that even as overdose deaths have declined across the country, "rural communities continue to face significant challenges accessing substance use disorder treatment and recovery services."

The geography explains much of it. Eastern Oregon is a long drive from the state's population centers: Pendleton and the surrounding Umatilla County are roughly three hours from Portland, and the rural counties in the award sit in a region where providers, transportation and same-day appointments are all in short supply. Medications for opioid use disorder — buprenorphine, methadone and naltrexone — work, but methadone requires a licensed opioid treatment program with near-daily dosing, which is precisely the kind of infrastructure rural areas lack. That means distance itself becomes a barrier to staying in treatment.

"In rural communities, access isn't just about whether a service exists, but whether it's available when and where people actually need it," said Jenna Stenrud, executive director of the Oregon Washington Health Network. "These awards give us the opportunity to strengthen the services already working in our communities, expand peer and recovery supports, and create new pathways for people to stay connected to recovery close to home."

The Oregon numbers behind the grant

Oregon's own data shows why treatment access remains a live issue even as the state's fatal overdose toll has improved. The Oregon Health Authority's overdose prevention dashboard tracks deaths, hospital discharges and emergency department visits across 11 drug categories, and the agency's 2025 report to the Legislature — required under state law — summarizes the continuing burden of opioid overdose among Oregonians.

The 2024 picture was a genuine turn: Oregon recorded 1,544 unintentional overdose deaths that year, down about 16 percent from 1,833 in 2023 and the first statewide decline since 2016. But more than 90 percent of those deaths still involved fentanyl or methamphetamine or both, and the overwhelming majority of people who died had no record of receiving substance use disorder treatment. A declining curve is not the same as a solved problem — and it is not felt evenly from Portland to Pendleton.

Targeted federal funding aimed at the treatment gap in rural counties is one of the levers that addresses both halves of that sentence.

What's next

The awards are now in hand, which means the work shifts to deployment. Expect the Oregon Washington Health Network to spend the next phase doing exactly what the grant language describes: reinforcing existing services, growing peer and recovery support capacity, and building pathways that let people in the four-county region stay in recovery close to home rather than leaving the area for care.

For families in Umatilla, Union, Morrow and Walla Walla counties, the practical question is what is available right now. It is worth asking local providers and county health departments whether they are partnering on the new RCORP-funded programs, and whether they offer same-day or walk-in assessment.

Where to get help now

• SAMHSA National Helpline — 1-800-662-4357, a free, confidential, 24/7 treatment referral and information service.
• FindTreatment.gov — a searchable federal directory of treatment providers, including medication for opioid use disorder.
• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988 for crisis support, including substance use crises.
• Oregon Health Authority — Addiction Services / Get Help — state-run pages listing crisis lines and treatment resources.
• Call 911 in an overdose emergency, and give naloxone if you have it. Oregon's Good Samaritan law protects people who seek emergency help for an overdose.

Treatment for opioid use disorder is effective, and starting it does not require waiting for a crisis to bottom out. The people behind this award are betting that in Eastern Oregon, the shortest path to recovery should be a local one.