Pitt County: Expansion of the Sheriff's Heroin Addiction Recovery Program (SHARP) and Women's Empowerment and Recovery (WEAR)

The Pitt County Sheriff's Office, under category 1b, proposes to expand the evidence-based substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs that operate within the Pitt County Detention Center. The Sheriff's Heroin Addiction Recovery Program (SHARP) and the Women's Empowerment and Recovery (WEAR) program are designed to combat substance use disorder and overdose deaths in Pitt County. These programs include GED/HSE services, cognitive behavioral therapy, moral recognition therapy, peer support services, access to a social worker, licensed substance abuse counselors, peer support services, and Medicated Assisted Treatment. The proposed expansion would fund three more years of programmatic staff, offer ride-sharing services to newly released low-income detainee’s for SUD’s related treatment and recovery needs, provide a residential treatment housing option to low income individuals with substance use disorder, contract with a local university for programmatic development and evaluation, and connect law enforcement with more local K-12 students. This project falls under special priority consideration 1A because low income populations have been historically underserved and marginalized which has resulted in numerous barriers to services (see pg. 4-5 in project narrative). The plan is use 7% of the budget to provide 2,100 total rides, 700 per project year, to treatment and recovery support services by partnering with the specialized non-profit organization, Danny’s Ride. 30% of the budget includes a partnership with Haven at Blue Creek, a world class residential treatment facility, to provide qualifying SHARP/WEAR participants a recovery housing option upon release. Haven at Blue Creek has committed four spots per month throughout the project period for qualifying SHARP/WEAR participants who are motivated for recovery. 35% of the budget will go towards the salaries and benefits of the SHARP/WEAR Programs Coordinator and the Social Worker. The Pitt County Sheriff’s Office will partner with East Carolina University (ECU) for programmatic evaluation/analysis, data collection, SHARP/WEAR curriculum development, and family life education classes for detainees; this makes up 20% of the budget. The Principal Investigator for the project will be Dr. Mallette, CFLE, and her team of human service graduate students. This COSSAP project will also dedicate 4% of the funds to expand the reach of evidence-based D.A.R.E. programming in Pitt County. D.A.R.E is an education and prevention program that connects law enforcement agencies to K-12 students. The curriculum has been reinvented to include components such as opioid and OTC/Rx drug abuse, vaping prevention, depression awareness, coping mechanisms, bullying, and communication skills.