Bristol County Outreach: Opioid Intervention/Mental Health Program

This proposal is submitted by the Seekonk Police Department (Massachusetts) on behalf of the eight-town collaborative of Dighton, Easton, Fairhaven, Mansfield, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Somerset and Swansea, a collaborative referred herein as “Bristol County Outreach.”  Bristol County is located South of Boston, and this collaboration of communities represents a population of 136,738 residents.  The Bristol County Outreach Opioid Intervention/Mental Health Program is a law enforcement led post-overdose outreach model that seeks to facilitate access to treatment for those struggling with substance use disorder as well as offering support to families and friends.  The proposed program model includes hiring a project coordinator/clinician along with a recovery specialist to support the eight-town coalition of police departments in their efforts to provide post overdose/referral recovery support services to individuals experiencing non-fatal overdoses and those determined to be at-risk for overdose.  Outreach teams including an Outreach Officer along with a Clinician or Recovery Specialist will conduct post-overdose follow-up outreach home visits ideally within 72 hours of the overdose event to offer resource information and access to treatment to the individuals. The outreach efforts will also include the distribution of harm reduction tool kits including first aid supplies, naloxone, and resource information packets.  The participating agencies are well positioned to implement the proposed project as all currently utilize the countywide overdose/referral tracking software the Critical Incident Management System (CIMS). CIMS tracks all fatal and non-fatal overdoses, shares this data among all law enforcement agencies within the county using a county-wide incident notification system, and tracks/documents post-overdose follow-up outreach visits which are intended to bring treatment resources to those without access to recovery support. Kelley Research Associates (KRA) will serve as the research partner for this project and maintains the CIMS software.