Pathways for ME: Person-Centered Recovery and Reentry

The purpose of the Pathways for ME: Person-Centered Recovery and
Reentry project is to reduce fatal overdose deaths and recidivism and enhance public safety in
Cumberland County, Maine. Cumberland County Public Health Department is requesting
$1,000,000 to implement activities under the following allowable uses: embed peers in the jail
and community to assist people with SUD and justice involvement; implement pre-booking and
post-booking treatment alternatives to incarceration program; housing navigation and support for
transitional or recovery housing; and coordinated efforts among police departments to expand the
use of diversion. To meet the goal of the project the primary activities are to: facilitate and
sustain a coordinated network of organizations that provide reentry support and case
management; expand the network to include Police Community Liaisons; screen people for
Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and co-occurring disorders in the jail; provide reentry supports as
people with SUD leave the jail; and increase peer recovery support in the jail and upon release.
The activities will be focused on people who have an SUD and are in the county jail at least 7
days. Given the complexity of needs among the target population and a host of barriers for
people as they leave jail, the proposed project relies on several strategic partnerships (and
subawards) across a range of organizations and services that, together, create a tailored and
coordinated system of care. Those organizations include: Cumberland County Jail, Maine
Pretrial Services, Co-occurring Collaborative Serving Maine, Amistad, and Portland Recovery
Community Center. Other partners include SUD treatment providers and Police Departments
across the county. The expected outcomes of the project are: 1) A coordinated network of
organizations that meets at least 2 times per month to coordinate care, eliminate barriers, and
provide reentry services to people with SUD as they leave the county jail. 2) Annual screening of
1000 people for SUD and co-occurring disorders and offering materials on treatment and
recovery support for all who screen positive. 3) All people who leave the jail receive naloxone.
4) Annually, 100 people in the jail receive reentry support, including navigation for the
continuity of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder and safe housing as well as linkages to peer
recovery support. 5)Annually, 100 people in the community receive reentry support, peer
recovery support and community service navigation immediately after release from jail. John
Snow, Inc will collect data and conduct the evaluation for the proposed project.