Franklin County Evolve, Empower, Emerge (aka E Cubed)

Franklin County, OH will integrate efforts of the Franklin County Office of Justice Policy and Programs (Lead Applicant) with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Southeast Inc, Corporation for Supportive Housing, and Talbert House (evaluator) to implement Emerge, Evolve, Empower (E³).  E³ proposes to implement a continuum of care that targets Franklin County’s most at-risk residents, including the homeless population, frequent utilizers of the jail system, and communities marginalized through historic policies and practices that resulted in the over-incarceration of individuals for drug usage. Specifically, the range of interventions proposed includes increased proactive outreach and engagement in homeless encampments, utilization of additional Peer Support Specialists with lived experience, expansion of transitional housing, increased behavioral health staffing to support individuals screened as at risk for a substance use disorder and incarcerated in the Franklin County Correctional Centers, improved linkage to pre-release medications for opioid use disorder and launch of a Recovery Community Center in a neighborhood on the south side of Columbus disproportionately impacted by the overdose crisis. Throughout the three-year grant program, we anticipate reaching 7,200 individuals during outreach and engagement events, and an additional 850 individuals will be directly served through increased access to treatment including pre-release medication assisted treatment, peer services, and harm reduction education.  Efforts will be focused in seven geographic zip codes identified as having a disproportionate number of overdose deaths in 2023 and 2024 and concerning gaps in health outcomes.