Navigating Recovery: Sauk County, Wisconsin

Public Health Sauk County proposes to implement the Navigating Recovery project. This will be spearheaded by the interagency Sauk County Overdose Death Review Team and the project’s purpose is to sustainably reduce the impact of substance use on individuals and local communities. This will include decreasing overdose, crime, and other related harms, particularly for those who have historically experienced health disparities. The project will contract with Project WisHope, a nonprofit peer-run recovery community organization, to embed peer support in various settings. Response Teams, comprised of one to two EMS professionals and a WisHope peer recovery coach, will make at-home visits to those referred to the program within three days of referral receipt. Peer recovery coaches will also meet with individuals who are incarcerated at the Sauk County Jail to plan for successful release to the community. In addition, WisHope peer recovery coaches will receive referrals from law enforcement, community corrections, and our pre-booking diversion program, and will staff a new WisHope Recovery Community Center for drop-in support and social interaction opportunities. They serve as resource brokers, connecting consumers to needed services including substance use disorder treatment, harm reduction tools and education, mental and physical healthcare, health insurance, food, clothing, housing, employment, and transportation services. In addition to providing peer support services, the Navigating Recovery Project will provide free naloxone and overdose prevention and response trainings, promote local drug take-back opportunities, and create and implement a strategy to disseminate comprehensive, real-time, regional data to improve responses to overdoses and emerging drug trends. The Navigating Recovery Project will work with an academic partner to guide regular reporting of outcomes and a formal evaluation of activities. Expected outcomes of the project include: increased access to and engagement in care and services across various settings, especially for those disproportionately affected by overdose; increased access to harm reduction education and services, including increased distribution of naloxone; expanded use of evidence-based approaches to prevent and respond to overdoses; improved health equity; and decreased fatal and nonfatal overdoses.