Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • Colorado's Opioid Crisis Slows, In Part Because Of a Drug That Reverses Overdoses

    Increasing the availability of naloxone reduces the number of deaths from opioid overdose. In Colorado, the Naloxone for Life initiative, which began in 2016, has distributed thousands of kits to emergency first responders and has also made the medication available without a prescription. As a result, paramedics have used the medication to reverse several hundred overdoses in Colorado, administering over 700 doses in Denver in 2018 alone.

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  • Treatment for Opioid Addiction, With No Strings Attached

    When treating opioid addiction, the typical approach is medication in conjunction with mandatory therapy sessions and a myriad of other check-ins. Realizing that this method was failing many people that were not able to make these sessions, some clinics are reversing the approach by focusing on a medication-first approach.

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  • Opioids in prison: How one state's success could work in Maine

    Maine is looking to pilot what has been a successful inmate drug rehabilitation program in Rhode Island. Based on the premise that providing controlled doses of the drugs will decrease overdoses, the Medicated Assisted Treatment program has "showed a 60 percent decrease in drug overdose deaths in Rhode Island among those who were recently incarcerated."

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  • Road Work Ahead: Treatment providers get creative with transportation for patients

    New Hampshire has a lack of reliable public transportation which often impacts those seeking medical attention, so facilities are taking matters into their own hands. Although it's yet to be determined how long these provider's creative methods will work, that's not stopping them from trying a myriad of options such as using grant money to pay for Lyft rides.

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  • North Country task force gives support to addiction counselors

    Counselors and caregivers need support, too. In New Hampshire, the North Country Task Force on Improving Opioid Treatment Outcomes is focusing on giving those working on the front lines of the opioid addiction crisis the tools to manage their own self-care. Funded by a grant, the task force is addressing the vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue that can undermine the quality of care given to those suffering from addiction.

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  • Treatment Courts Adapt to Meet Challenges

    New Hampshire's court system has found ways to improve treatment services for at least some people with substance and mental health problems, despite a lack of adequate resources. The state's problem-solving courts have improvised workarounds to the resources challenges, providing a recovery coach to defendants with substance-misuse disorder and using trauma-informed practices in drug and mental health treatment courts. One example: female trauma survivors facing criminal charges do not appear in court in front of a crowd of men, making them more open to asking for and getting help.

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  • A tale of two cities: What Baltimore can teach Arizona about fighting fentanyl overdoses

    In 2018, Baltimore passed a harm-reduction bill that allowed the distribution of fentanyl testing strips to assess if fentanyl has been laced into drugs. The decriminalization of these follow similar harm reduction trends that allow for the distribution of safe syringes and naloxone. While proving effective in reducing drug overdoses, because such stigma is attached to addiction, states like Arizona are hesitant to implement such measures, even as advocates and experts call for it.

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  • Facing opioid and foster-care crisis, Spokane's Rising Strong seeks to keep families together

    Keeping families together eases the burden on the foster care system and reduces issues such as homelessness and substance abuse in the long term. Former foster children in Spokane, Washington, end up relying heavily upon other social welfare institutions throughout their lives. To break this cycle, Rising Strong, a program funded largely by a philanthropic contribution, focuses on rebuilding families while addressing behavior issues through an intensive, live-in program.

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  • In effort to prevent overdose deaths, state plans to put ‘NaloxBoxes' in public buildings

    As states continue to tackle a nationwide opioid crisis, one tactic that is being tried is making treatments of overdoses more accessible. By installing boxes containing the overdose reversal drug naloxone in public places, the state of Maine hopes to not only save lives, but also decrease stigma and increase communication.

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  • Mass. prisons start offering medication to treat addiction

    Newly passed legislation in Massachusetts is allowing prisons to take a step towards managing inmates health care by letting a third party company administer medication that helps treat opioid addiction. This step towards bridging the gap between punishment and help, also focuses on reducing racial inequalities and rates of addiction-caused deaths.

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