Commentary: Syringe handouts, schools need separation

Oregon Legislature considers bill with local impetus on Thursday

I’m writing this feeling equal parts energized and overwhelmed. After nearly two years of showing up, documenting impacts and having difficult conversations in our neighborhood, something we’ve been working toward is finally happening:

The bill that keeps needle drops out of places meant for kids is moving, has bipartisan support and is creating an opening for neighbors to be heard next week.

I don’t want people to miss this moment. If this issue affects your family, your work or your community, we need you now.

For years, Portland neighborhoods have absorbed the consequences of harm reduction needle drops without accountability from city and county leaders. Senate Bill 1573 has officially been scheduled for a public hearing on Thursday in the Senate Committee on Early Childhood and Behavioral Health.

The committee is chaired by Sen. Lisa Reynolds, D, with Sen. Richard Anderson, R, serving as vice chair. Anderson is also a co–chief sponsor of the bill, a meaningful signal of bipartisan seriousness. Stadiumhood’s state representative, Shannon Isadore, D, is also a co-sponsor, after sustained engagement from residents in the district and Friends of Couch Park.

SB 1573 heads to Committee

Details:

• What: Public hearing, third item on the agenda

• When: Feb. 5, 2026; 8–9:30 a.m.

• Where: Oregon State Capitol: 900 Court Street NE, Salem, Oregon 97301; Hearing Room E

Legislators listen not just to agencies and advocates but to community members who live with the consequences of policy gaps every day. There are many long running debates around drug policy and harm reduction in Multnomah County, and SB 1573 is not about taking sides nor does it criminalize people. It also doesn’t dismantle harm reduction. Instead, it asks a basic question: Where are the boundaries?

In plain language, the bill would:

• Set clear, place-based guardrails so syringe distribution does not occur in or immediately next to sensitive locations like schools, playgrounds and spaces centered on children;

• Clarify expectations so public health efforts are coordinated and accountable;

• Replace ambiguity with structure and responsibility.

SB 1573 has earned bipartisan support because it resists the usual narrative we see so often in Oregon politics. It does not frame the issue as compassion versus safety, or health versus community, but what it does do is recognize that those binaries collapse under lived experience. Support from Democratic legislators signals that this bill is being evaluated on function instead of merely party alignment. Imagine that! Families, service providers, educators and neighbors are asking for clarity, predictability and a way to be heard when something isn’t working, which is why this bill is being considered in a committee focused on early childhood and behavioral health. Those systems depend on boundaries and trust.

If you care about protecting shared public spaces, our children and ensuring health policies work in practice, let’s give communities a voice without turning every issue into a culture war. We have a really meaningful opportunity to engage here.

Details on how to submit testimony will be shared as soon as they are available and can be tracked through the OLIS system. If you are able to travel to Salem next week and testify in person, the impact would be notable and deeply appreciated.

A simple call to action

• Submit written testimony in support of SB 1573 (link forthcoming)

• Show up in Salem on Thursday to testify in person

• Limited spots are available for those who want to testify via Zoom, please email stadiumhood@gmail.com for more information or leave a comment below

• Share the hearing details with parents, educators, neighbors, and local leaders

• Stay engaged as the bill moves through committee and track this bill through OLIS:https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2024R1/Measures/Overview/SB1573

*A sample testimony is offered below for community members who want to express support for SB 1573:

I support SB 1573 because it addresses a gap between policy and reality. While harm reduction efforts are meant to help, communities have been left without practical, place-based guardrails when impacts concentrate in specific locations. We’re not talking about moral judgments or lessening the impacts of harm reduction. We need accountability so neighborhoods are not left to manage dangerous impacts without voice or recourse.

What has been missing is a framework that balances public health goals with place-based responsibility. Without it confusion grows, conflict escalates, and trust erodes. SB 1573 helps restore clarity in a way that supports both public health and community stability.

If you’re new here, some background. This video is a news segment from last year highlighting harm reduction work through a volunteer associated with Portland People’s Outreach Program, which works under the direction of Portland Street Medicine, offering insight into how these approaches were publicly framed at the time. The Stadiumhood Substack also contains articles about this journey. Progress happens when lawmakers catch up to what communities have already been living. Senate Bill 1573 is there now. On Thursday we will have a chance to show why that alignment matters.