Over the past decade, more than 2,000 detroiters have been lost to fatal drug overdose, and over 7,000 detroiters have experienced an opioid-involved emergency since the onset of the covid-19 pandemic

The City of Detroit Finance Division, operating as the Mayor's Office, was awarded a $1,600,000 Project Grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) under the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and other Substances Use Program (CFDA 16.838). The funding will support the Detroit HOME (Housing, Overdose Prevention, Managed Care, and Empowerment) Project, which aims to prevent fatal drug overdoses, ensure pathways to permanent housing, and nurture holistic wellness opportunities to sustain recovery among 500 specialty court participants. The project will galvanize resources across the city's Housing and Revitalization Department, 36th District Court Specialty Court, and a network of public health, recovery support, and treatment providers to combat the drug and housing crisis in Detroit. Key activities include wraparound care, training, education, and strategy development to advance behavioral health equity and diversion to care strategies.

Illicit drug poisonings cost an estimated $193 billion annually in the united states and nearly $1 billion annually in detroit alone; this includes costs in healthcare, treatment programs, traffic crashes, foster care, and criminal justice economic burdens. The actual cost to the community can be assumed to be higher when accounting for indirect costs (e.g. lost wages, reduced productivity, and child drug endangerment), and the intangible societal costs of the drug crisis, such as grief, fear, and social scarring, are immeasurable. The pandemic also exacerbated housing inequities particularly among precariously housed and homeless black and brown young adults under the age of 34. The detroit home (housing, overdose prevention, managed care, and empowerment) project will galvanize the resources of the city of detroit housing and revitalization department, 36TH district court specialty court, changing lives and staying sober, and a network of public health, recovery support, and treatment providers, to combat the drug and housing crisis in detroit. The aim of the project is to prevent fatal drug poisonings, ensure pathways to permanent housing, and nurture holistic wellness opportunities to sustain recovery among specialty court participants. The detroit home project seeks to engage 500 participants and stakeholders in direct wraparound care, training, education, and strategy development as part of its mission to advance behavioral health equity and diversion to care strategies.