The proposed project activities will serve residents of cumberland county, north carolina (NC), which has been disproportionately impacted by the opioid epidemic

This $1,300,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (CFDA 16.838 - Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program) aims to address the opioid epidemic in Cumberland County, North Carolina. The funding supports a comprehensive, whole-person, harm reduction approach through a partnership with the Cumberland County Department of Public Health, Fayetteville Police Department, NC Harm Reduction Coalition, and the Cumberland-Fayetteville Opioid Response Team. Key activities include:

• Expanding the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program and enhancing data collection on overdoses and diversions
• Implementing a centralized Recovery Support Services Fund to provide access to recovery housing, education, job attainment, and transportation
• Deploying a Sequential Intercept Model Coordinator, Diversion Specialist, and Outreach Specialists to enhance and coordinate services across partners
• Updating the adult Sequential Intercept Model and developing a youth-focused version

This 3-year project, starting on October 1, 2024, aims to increase the community's capacity to address the opioid crisis through a comprehensive, evidence-based approach.

The overdose death rate increased 31% over 12 months and remains significantly higher than the statewide and U.S. Overdose rates. This project increases the community's capacity to implement a comprehensive whole-person, harm reduction approach to the overdose crisis through a partnership with cumberland county department of public health (ccdph), city of fayetteville police department (FPD), NC harm reduction coalition (nchrc), and the cumberland-fayetteville opioid response team (c-fort). The project builds upon the success of previous and current BJA funded projects and coordinates with other local projects with relevant funding. IT provides additional FPD staff time to support the recent expansion of the law enforcement assisted diversion (lead) program, a pre-booking diversion pilot program; enhances data collection and analysis of overdoses and diversions; and implements a centralized recovery support services fund which will allow agencies working within the sequential intercept model (SIM) to refer individuals with substance use disorder to recovery housing, educational advancement, job attainment, and transportation, factors critical to success in recovery. The project also includes a nchrc SIM coordinator to enhance and coordinate services by meeting and collaborating with partner agencies, facilitating access to the recovery support fund, leveraging additional resources, identifying service gaps, and leading strategic planning efforts to enhance local diversion/deflection programs. In addition, a nchrc diversion specialist and two outreach specialists will enhance diversion services along each of the SIM intercepts. C-fort members will collaborate to update the adult SIM map and develop a youth-focused sequential intercept map.