The franklin county sheriffs office, in collaboration with the opioid task force of franklin county and the north quabbin region and other partners, is seeking $1,000,000 over three years to expand…

The Franklin County Sheriff's Office in Massachusetts was awarded a $1,000,000 Project Grant over 3 years from the Bureau of Justice Assistance's Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and other Substances Use Program (CFDA #16.838). The funding will support the expansion of the "CONNECT" team, which was established in 2021 to respond to fatal and non-fatal overdoses in the county's 30 rural communities. Key initiatives include: 1) implementing a mobile outreach program, self-referral pathways, grief support, and an overdose fatality review team; 2) embedding peer recovery coaches in community, court, and emergency room settings; 3) continuing to provide naloxone to law enforcement and first responders; 4) supporting cultural humility efforts; and 5) expanding data collection and evaluation. The project aims to address gaps in law enforcement/first responder capacity, budget cuts, staffing turnover, racial disparities, and rural access barriers that have impacted opioid overdose response efforts in the region.

The franklin county sheriffs office, in collaboration with the opioid task force of franklin county and the north quabbin region and other partners, is seeking $1,000,000 over three years to expand services provided by connect the community opportunity, network, navigation, exploration, and connection team. Serving 30 rural communities across nearly 1,000 square miles, connect became the first team serving 86,773 residents to respond to fatal and non-fatal overdoses in july 2021, in the only federally designated rural county in massachusetts. Connect was created to address consistently high levels of fatal overdoses in a region marked by persistent poverty, further exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic, which drove up opioid-related fatalities by 45.5% between 2020 to 2021. Despite the presence of connect, gaps remain. Lack of law enforcement and first responder capacity, budget cuts, and staff turnover have emerged as issues. The distribution of naloxone to our law enforcement and first responders remains a priority as many municipalities are unable to afford IT due to high costs. Advancing racial equity in our work has also emerged as a priority, as data reveal people of color are disproportionately impacted by opioid overdoses in massachusetts. Rural isolation and lack of access to services remain a concern, where limited transportation routes and internet connectivity prevented individuals from accessing SUD treatment services and peer recovery coaching supports in community settings preventing their entry into the mental health and criminal justice systems. To address these challenges, connect would: 1) implement a set of new strategies at intercept zero that would include the creation of a connect mobile outreach program to visit residents in their own communities, including targeting priority populations (e.g. trade workers), create self and at-risk referral pathways to leverage connect services to prevent opioid overdoses from occurring, provide grief support visits, and create an opioid fatality review team; 2) embed peer recovery coaches in community, court, and emergency room settings; 3) continue to provide naloxone to law enforcement and first responders; 4) support connects cultural humility initiative to ensure the diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice principles are part of our community outreach; and 5) expand real-time data collection with our critical management system for connects new services. Led by research scientists pamela kelley and DR. Sean varano, kelley research associates will act as connects research partner to assess its effectiveness.