The holyoke police department (HPD) proposes to implement the expansion of recovery from addiction to substances efforts II (ERASE-II), which is a multi-component and multi-discipline project designed…

The City of Holyoke, Massachusetts has been awarded a $1,000,000 federal Project Grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) under the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and other Substance Use Program (COSSUP), CFDA 16.838. The grant will fund the Expansion of Recovery from Addiction to Substances Efforts II (ERASE-II) project over a 3-year period from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2026.

ERASE-II is a multi-component intervention program designed to significantly improve efforts to curb opioid, stimulant, and other substance use and abuse in Holyoke. Key project activities include: supporting individuals with substance use disorders through interventions, reducing overdoses and overdose deaths, diverting individuals from arrest and incarceration, connecting homeless clients to housing, providing transitional supports for those returning from incarceration, enhancing data management capabilities, and conducting a comprehensive research evaluation. The project will implement a team comprised of an intervention officer, two recovery coaches, and an outreach coordinator to deliver these services. The City of Holyoke will partner with several local community organizations, the Holyoke Police Department, the court system, and the Hampden County Sheriff's Office to implement ERASE-II.

The holyoke police department (HPD) proposes to implement the expansion of recovery from addiction to substances efforts II (ERASE-II), which is a multi-component and multi-discipline project designed to significantly improve efforts to curb and eliminate the substantial opiate, stimulant, and substance problem in holyoke, MA with a goal of a fully sustainable addiction response program in the city. Holyoke is a small, postindustrial city of 38,238 people with elevated levels of concentrated poverty, illicit drug use and abuse, drug trafficking and gang activity. ERASE-II is comprised of a multidisciplinary team, which includes partnerships with community-based service providers center for human development (CHD), the holyoke police department (HPD), gandara (a community-based behavioral health provider), certe (our research and evaluation partner), the court, and the hampden county sheriff who oversees the hampden county correctional center in the holyoke jurisdiction. The purpose of ERASE-II is to implement a multi-component intervention program with project activities that include; (1) support individuals with opioid, stimulant, and other illicit substance issues with interventions to reduce addictions and associated mental health needs, (2) to reduce overdoses and overdose deaths through prevention and intervention strategies, (3) to divert individuals with substance use issues, and (4) to reduce substance-related crime in holyoke. To meet objectives, we will: implement a team comprised of an intervention officer, two recovery coaches, and an outreach coordinator. The team will (1) intervene in OD calls, (2) identify engage and recruit ERASE-II clients, (3) provide direct supports and peer-to-peer services to clients, (4) refer and connect ERASE-II clients to evidence based programs, including mat and detox programs, (5) divert clients from arrest and divert from incarceration, (6) connect homeless clients with substance addiction to short term housing, (7) conduct extensive outreach and community-based support of clients, (8) provide a walk-in support space for individuals with substance use issues in a central location, (9) provide transitional supports to clients returning from incarceration, (10) improve data management and case management capabilities to better support clients, (11) utilize data to investigate harmful criminal practices (e.g., identification and removal of batches of fentanyl laced drugs), and (12) conduct a research evaluation of the project.