Betsy Johnson ran for governor of Oregon as an unaffiliated candidate in the 2022 election cycle. She also served in the Oregon Legislature as a Democratic House Representative and later in the Oregon Senate. Betsy met Alan Evans when he came to the Oregon Legislature to talk about homelessness after he started an addiction recovery program called Thugs off Drugs. Alan was homeless for over 25 years and is now in recovery from substance use. He founded the Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers, which includes Bybee Lakes Hope Center in Portland, Oregon. Betsy and Alan talk about homelessness and addiction solutions that have proven effective in Oregon and why those programs have problems getting funding from local government, the story about how they met, and more.

https://helpinghandsreentry.org/about-us

Betsy Johnson ran for governor of Oregon as an unaffiliated candidate in the 2022 election cycle. She also served in the Oregon Legislature as a Democratic House Representative and later in the Oregon Senate. Betsy met Alan Evans when he came to the Oregon Legislature to talk about homelessness after he started an addiction recovery program called Thugs off Drugs. Alan was homeless for over 25 years and is now in recovery from substance use. He founded the Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers, which includes Bybee Lakes Hope Center in Portland, Oregon. Betsy and Alan talk about homelessness and addiction solutions that have proven effective in Oregon and why those programs have problems getting funding from local government, the story about how they met, and more.

• https://helpinghandsreentry.org/about-us

Josh Marquis is the former District Attorney for Clatsop County, Oregon. He is a founding member and on the Board of Directors at the Oregon Criminal Justice Truth Project, He is also the Director of Legal Affairs and Law Enforcement for Animal Wellness Action. Now retired, Josh continues to be an active member of the Oregon State Bar and to advocate for victims' rights. We recorded this episode right before Josh moved to Florida.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-marquis-5b30258
• https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/task-force-that-cut-car-thefts-in-half-now-on-the-chopping-block-multnomah-county-da-says/
• https://www.coastda.com/about.html
• https://www.oregon.gov/ogec/pages/default.aspx
• https://www.koin.com/news/politics/soros-backed-group-donates-20k-to-candidate-in-washington-county-da-race/
• https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2024/05/multnomah-county-da-mike-schmidt-campaign-gets-boost-from-progressive-philanthropist-george-soros.html
• https://www.wweek.com/news/2024/05/03/working-families-party-contributions-to-mike-schmidt-grow-to-213000/
• https://open.spotify.com/episode/1OcUCKj1ud4AmuaGgGfYfP?si=jk3u01mUQZa5pgOEJnZO7g
• https://www.wweek.com/news/courts/2021/04/09/grammy-winning-musician-john-legend-once-again-weighs-in-on-oregons-criminal-justice-policies/
• https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2023/05/city-considers-two-teams-to-oversee-mandated-portland-police-reforms.html
• https://www.ocjtp.org
• https://www.wweek.com/news/2023/03/15/data-shows-fires-at-homeless-camps-remained-a-large-portion-of-portland-blazes-last-year/
• https://www.wweek.com/news/state/2023/05/10/la-mota-founders-campaign-contributions-to-kotek-and-others-stacks-of-cash/

Dr. Sharon Meieran, MD, has an impressive pedigree. She did her undergraduate work at UC Berkeley; her JD at University of California, Hastings College of Law; and her MD at UCSF School of Medicine. She worked as a lawyer for six years before going to medical school. Dr. Meieran worked as an ER physician from 2013 until recently. She continues to do volunteer street medicine work. She served on the Board of Commissioners for Multnomah County, Oregon, where Portland is situated, for eight years. Dr. Meieran has termed out as a commissioner, but may take another run at the chair seat. She remains an active public servant, working with the legislature to improve access to mental health and addiction services, working to craft policy at the county level, and consulting with elected officials and candidates for office. She does all of this as a volunteer. Andy Chandler from the show NW Fresh co-hosts.

• https://www.wweek.com/news/2024/07/22/meieran-to-make-another-run-at-ambulance-staffing/
• https://open.spotify.com/episode/7qeWJjhPeNQgFp1QalVZAk?si=XOouYJSjRaun0IBKQxbwtQ
• https://open.spotify.com/episode/0gCcUfipmwYhSzLf2GKRof?si=sCbWEXs7QvWrrhsmuZUTrA
• https://x.com/rationalinpdx/status/1783936334077563047?s=46
• https://x.com/rationalinpdx/status/1795330785081532431?s=46
• https://x.com/rationalinpdx/status/1667029372254167040?s=46
• https://x.com/rationalinpdx/status/1666861880630214656?s=46
• https://x.com/rationalinpdx/status/1661245320330878976?s=46
• https://www.instagram.com/reel/DB19q_MRs6b/?igsh=bDV2c2ZmNzJhbW11
• https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBzwYJkS9zq/?igsh=c3kxOGdxM2Z5M3Vx
• https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/oregon-ranks-worst-in-the-country-for-drug-problems-report/
• https://fortune.com/well/2024/04/08/10-worst-states-live-mental-health-study/
• https://mhanational.org/the-state-of-mental-health-in-america/data-rankings/prevalence-data/

Scott Bradley is a pastor at AS IS church and the Executive Director of the HOPE Center PDX in the Rockwood neighborhood in the Gresham-Portland, Oregon area of East Multnomah County. Rockwood is one of the most diverse and one of the most violent neighborhoods in East County, Scott is also a CrossFit competitor and coach at Underground PDX, a gym that he founded in Rockwood.

Mario Reyes is a second generation immigrant whose parents are from Mexico. At thirteen-years-old, living in Rockwood, he met Scott, who served as his mentor.. Ten years later, Mario is now an Underground PDX coach and mentor and serves his community through the Hope Center.

Both Scott and Mario have a history of significant childhood trauma and they have struggled with substance use. They have both been in and out of the criminal justice system. After turning their lives around, they now serve as leaders in the Rockwood community. They share their respective stories and personal journeys in this episode.

• Our Team - AS IS CHURCH - Sharing God's Love
• THE UNDERGROUND PDX - Home
• https://www.hopecenterpdx.org
• https://www.instagram.com/theundergroundpdx?igsh=MWdlZG83bThyaWVsZg==
• https://www.instagram.com/scottbradley73?igsh=Z2V1azR0NWlzdmVw
• https://www.amazon.com/Forgiveness-Factor-Scott-Bradley/dp/1257821857

Lance Orton is the Executive Director of CityTeam Portland, which provides addiction and homelessness services. Lance is a self-described opioid addict who found himself homeless on the streets of Portland. He attained sobriety through CityTeam. Lance says that 76% of CityTeam’s graduates are working and sober.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/lance-orton
• https://www.cityteam.org/give-help/portland
• https://x.com/rationalinpdx/status/1795318576049795471?s=46
• https://www.shelterportland.org/our-team
• https://open.spotify.com/episode/02m0lAsOya245ZuD6XMMOL?si=eg93gp7TT62VEK-Hmbl-3Q

Dan Ryan is a Portland City Councilor for District 2. Dan is the only Portland City Councilor who ran for re-election in the last election cycle. Portland recently restructured its city government and Dan talks about serving under the new city structure, his goals and priorities, what he's learned from his constituents, the things he's excited about in Portland, and more. Our mayor is coming out with his budget soon, and Dan shares what he is hopeful will be prioritized and how he wants to help you make Portland stronger, even if you're not in his district.

• https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2025/04/23/council-requested-poll-show-portlanders-would-prefer-cuts-to-police-over-parks-and-fire/
• https://www.portland.gov/council/districts/2/dan-ryan
• https://www.portland.gov/council-clerk/testimony-registration
• https://futureportland.org
• https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2021/01/portland-commissioner-dan-ryans-home-vandalized-7-times-since-october-he-says.html?outputType=amp
• https://trimet.org/about/board.htm
• https://multco.us/info/public-testimony-webform
• https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2025/04/trimet-ridership-remains-down-by-a-third-from-2019-and-the-recovery-is-slowing.html?outputType=amp
• https://news.trimet.org/2023/03/trimet-participates-in-first-of-its-kind-multi-agency-study-addressing-drug-use-on-transit-systems/
• https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2023/09/researchers-find-meth-fentanyl-cocaine-residue-on-trimet-max-trains.html?outputType=amp
• https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2021/08/11/black-portlanders-are-more-likely-to-be-murdered-than-their-peers-in-cities-better-known-for-crime/
• https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/portland-maintenance-infrasturucture-backlog-auditors-report-mayor/283-8f31c7f0-cff1-4786-9895-58359df44c6a

Dr. Eric Fruits, Ph.D., is an economist who specializes in economics, finance, and statistics. He is an adjunct professor in Economics and Finance at Portland State University and an adjunct scholar at Cascade Policy Institute. He also serves as an expert witness in court cases. Dr. Fruits talks about the Portland Public Schools bond, various local taxes in the Portland area, Trump's tariffs, and more. Andy Chandler from NW Fresh co-hosts.

• https://web.pdx.edu/~fruits/
• https://laweconcenter.org/author/ericfruits/
• https://www.wweek.com/news/2024/04/05/preschool-for-all-tax-data-shows-shrinking-number-of-high-earners-pay-the-levy/
• https://www.wweek.com/news/schools/2025/04/08/preschool-for-all-had-485-million-left-in-its-coffers-after-fiscal-year-2024/
• https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2025/04/03/dunphy-morillo-and-novick-propose-increasing-retail-climate-tax-to-plug-citys-budget-hole/
• https://www.portland.gov/bps/cleanenergy/faqs-about-pcef
• https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2024/01/28/heres-who-isnt-paying-portlands-clean-energy-sales-tax/
• https://www.wweek.com/news/2024/04/24/portland-officials-neglected-street-paving-for-decades-now-your-tires-pay-the-price/
• https://www.wweek.com/news/2025/03/12/how-walt-bowens-big-bet-on-a-ritz-carlton-hotel-and-condos-crapped-out/
• https://www.wweek.com/news/2025/03/12/how-walt-bowens-big-bet-on-a-ritz-carlton-hotel-and-condos-crapped-out/
• https://www.oregonmetro.gov/sites/default/files/metro-events/March-10_Metro-President-Work-Group-Agenda.pdf
• https://www.oregonmetro.gov/sites/default/files/metro-events/March-10_Metro-President-Work-Group-Agenda.pdf