LETTER: Start slow with MAT clinic

I have been reading the many positions of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s proposed medication assisted treatment (MAT) clinic and the SOS (Save Our Sequim) group, and I agree with many of the thoughts shared from both ends of the spectrum.

This is what I am wondering:

We have so many empty buildings in Sequim. Has anyone thought about starting a “Let’s see how it goes,” smaller MAT facility?

It seems like getting a program underway ASAP would be an interesting experiment in seeing what the results might be from a “starter MAT facility.” Agreed?

We have empty buildings for treatment, for dentists, for mental health workers, and, with some remodeling, for other services also.

What we don’t have, and I think this will be a huge issue, is shelter for what I expect to be the many transient homeless that come for treatment.

I really don’t know my ultimate position on this.

I think that doing an entry-Level MAT clinic would give us more information before we succumb to the current proposal.

I do know that I am not in favor of the current proposed location.

I would be interested in anyone’s else’s thoughts on this.

Karla Messerschmidt Morgan

Sequim