Former drug users work on the front lines of the opioid crisis in Rhode Island

Merging accountability with treatment promotes recovery for those charged with drug possession. In Franklin County, Ohio, the municipal court system operates a program called Helping Achieve Recovery Together. The court recovery program provides a two-year track for participants to receive mental health support from peers and the courts, with the goal of moving them from the criminal justice system and into treatment.

More lives are being touched by sorrow as the opioid crisis continues to escalate. For mothers of addicts, recovered addicts, and addicts themselves, programs like Pathways to Housing and Prevention Point are bringing together this community in a effort to heal.

First Day Forward provides support and assistance to people with substance use disorders who are reentering the community after incarceration in seven rural counties. The program is driven by peer-support specialists who have lived experience to provide trusting support to those seeking assistance. The program has been shown to work as the recidivism rate for those who’ve successfully completed it has dropped to 23.5%, compared to 53.2% in a nearby county.

The Health Wagon provides medical care to those experiencing addiction. The Health Wagon also provides services for those in recovery, including medications, counseling, and peer support groups in an effort to reduce relapses and overdose deaths which have skyrocketed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Building trust with a recovery coach can reduce the shame and stigma surrounding addiction during pregnancy. In Madison, Wisconsin, the Pregnancy2Recovery program pairs expecting mothers who are struggling with addiction with coaches. The coaches, who are also recovering addicts, build rapport with their mentees, helping them navigate aspects of both recovery and pregnancy.

To help those struggling with opioid addictions, an apprentice program in Kentucky uses art and music taught by local artisans to provide participants with a path forward. After learning various skills as part of the program, a local instrument company also considers the new apprentices for hire as part of a “recovery-friendly” employment movement.

The hub-and-spoke model allows local partners to provide individuals with access to resources earmarked specifically for opioid addiction treatment. The system of care, which uses regional clinics and non-profits as access points to treatment, has already proven effective in Vermont. Currently, a similar program is assisting individuals suffering from opioid addiction receive the help they need through entry points at nonprofits like The Doorway office at Harbor Homes.

Although the opioid epidemic has spread across America, this story argues that local solutions are needed. In Allentown, when somebody overdoses on opioids, they get a visit from a Blue Guardian, a trained volunteer that connects the individual to treatment. The outreach program also focuses on reaching out to the families of addicts. In 2017, the program aided nearly 1,000 addicts to get treatment.

The Ohio Reformatory for Women is a prison that offers inmates a chance to enroll in Tapestry, an inpatient drug treatment program that tries to delve into the deeper causes women turn to drugs. It also believes in connecting women who are addicts with one another because “on the outside there’s not enough support.” The 18 month program is “about healing mind, body and spirit.”

In Kentucky, a parent who is addicted to opioids and is reported to Child Protective Services, can get a second a chance. That’s because a program called START, gives parents the option of getting assigned a mentor that helps addicted parents through their recovery. Research “has shown it has a higher success rate in reuniting families than the traditional child welfare process.”