Peer mentors are key to Oregon’s Measure 110 success, but they are working in a broken system
On a sunny September evening in 2021, Nathaniel Sean Stringer joined family and colleagues for a recovery celebration at a park in the eastern Oregon town of Ontario. To enthusiastic applause, he received an award for his service to those struggling with addiction. Just weeks later, Stringer overdosed on fentanyl and died inside a grocery store. He was 35. His death shows how fragile recovery from addiction can be — and his story highlights a major pressure point in Oregon’s…