Project Hope - Increasing Access to Recovery Support

The City of Springfield will increase access to substance use treatment and services for homeless and justice-involved individuals by adding engagement and service connections at two intervention points. The initiative will provide: 1) a multidisciplinary homeless outreach team made up of a behavioral health clinician and police officers, and 2) the presence of a behavioral health clinician in the Springfield District Court for arraignment sessions. The project is further supported by a new Community Care Coordinator, housed in the Springfield Police Department, who will enhance coordination between the partners and community service providers. Through these interventions, the initiative will engage unsheltered homeless individuals and individuals at the pre-disposition/arraignment stage in the Springfield District Court. When individuals at these intervention points are interested in substance use treatment, they will be referred and enrolled in treatment, including connecting with a community peer support program. Homeless individuals will also be referred to the Springfield-Hampden County Continuum of Care (CoC) coordinated entry system for housing assistance. The city is partnering with Behavioral Health Network (BHN) for this initiative, and the service area is the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. The University of Massachusetts-Amherst Department of Public Health is the research partner and will conduct process and outcome evaluations.