Hancock County Leveraging Peer Support Services

Recovery Community Organization Outreach Project in Hancock County, Ohio will enhance recovery support services (RSS), peer recovery support services (PRSS), and increase access to transitional or recovery housing for individuals 18 years and older who have a history of opioid, stimulant, or other substance use disorders and are either at risk or involved in the criminal justice system in Hancock County. Hancock County is located in northwestern Ohio, approximately 40 miles south of Toledo and 100 miles from Columbus, Dayton, and Detroit in Michigan. Hancock County is home to about 75,000 people, with more than half (about 41,000) residing in the “micropolitan” county seat of Findlay. It is a rural area with a population density of about 140 residents per square mile.     Through this funding, the ADAMHS Board will partner with the local peer-led recovery community organization, FOCUS: Recovery and Wellness Community (FOCUS).  The ADAMHS Board will also leverage an existing multi-disciplinary approach that brings together law enforcement and other public safety officials with public health, treatment providers, and researchers to increase non-clinical recovery support services based on evidence-based practices to better serve individuals in recovery who are at-risk or involved in the criminal justice system.  Currently individuals find their way to FOCUS for long-term recovery support services.  This grant will provide the opportunity to engage individuals out in the community (i.e., police department, court, treatment facilities, etc.) and bring them into FOCUS for ongoing, long-term support.  This reduces the need and burden on the individual to take the first steps to initiate and engage in with RSS.       The project activities will aim to: (1) expand availability and access to recovery housing and peer recovery support services; (2) increase coordination of services between criminal justice and recovery support service systems; and (3) conduct an evaluation of the project’s impact.