Project Grant H79TI085554

FORGING FORWARD IN RECOVERY - FOCUS: RECOVERY AND WELLNESS COMMUNITY SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION CENTER FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT (SAMHSA CSAT) BUILDING COMMUNITIES OF RECOVERY (BCOR) PROJECT ABSTRACT THE PROPOSED PROJECT, FORGING FORWARD IN RECOVERY, WILL BE LED AND IMPLEMENTED BY FOCUS TO EXPAND AND ENHANCE PEER RECOVERY SUPPORT SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS (18 YEARS OR OLDER) IN RECOVERY FROM SUBSTANCE USE OR CO-OCCURRING SUBSTANCE USE AND MENTAL DISORDERS (COD), AND THEIR CHOSEN FAMILIES WHO LIVE IN RURAL AREAS THAT ARE CONSIDERED TRANSIT DESERTS WITHIN HANCOCK COUNTY, OHIO. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO TARGET OUTREACH TO SUBPOPULATIONS INCLUDING INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE LGBTQ OR NON-BINARY, LOCAL COLLEGE STUDENTS, AND VETERANS. HANCOCK COUNTY IS A PREDOMINANTLY RURAL AREA WITH A POPULATION DENSITY OF ABOUT 140 RESIDENTS PER SQUARE MILE. MOST RESIDENTS ARE WHITE, NON-HISPANIC/LATINO (89%), ABOUT 6% ARE HISPANIC/LATINO, 2% ARE BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICAN. ENGLISH IS THE MOST COMMON LANGUAGE; 5% SPEAK A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH AT HOME. ABOUT 10% OF HANCOCK COUNTY RESIDENTS LIVE BELOW THE FEDERAL POVERTY LINE. THERE ARE ABOUT 4,500 VETERANS (6%) WHO LIVE THE COUNTY (US CENSUS BUREAU, 2021). ACCORDING TO THE LATEST LOCAL COMMUNITY HEALTH ASSESSMENT, ABOUT 4% OF RESIDENTS IDENTIFY AS LGBTQ+ (HANCOCK PUBLIC HEALTH, 2018). THE GOALS OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT ARE TO: 1) ENHANCE THE ORGANIZATION'S CAPACITY TO IMPLEMENT AND SUSTAIN EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES; 2) IMPLEMENT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES THAT INCREASE AN INDIVIDUAL'S RECOVERY CAPITAL TO DECREASE THE POSSIBILITY OF RELAPSE, RE-ADMISSION TO TREATMENT, ED VISITS, ARREST, OVERDOSE, OR SUICIDE; 3) INCREASE AWARENESS OF AND ENGAGEMENT IN PRSS AND RSS IN RURAL/REMOTE LOCATIONS WITHIN THE COUNTY; AND 4) DECREASE STIGMA AMONG LOCAL EMPLOYERS AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ABOUT PEOPLE IN RECOVERY TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS, THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL EXPAND TRAINING AND WORKSHOP OPPORTUNITIES (E.G., MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING, MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID, SELF-CARE PRACTICES, CRAFT, WRAP, BATTLE BUDDIES, RECOVERY GUIDES, NARCAN ACCESS) TO A WIDE RANGE OF STAKEHOLDERS INCLUDING OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS, STAFF, VOLUNTEERS, CLIENTS, THEIR FAMILIES AND OTHERS IN THE COMMUNITY. THE PROJECT WILL EXPAND UPON THE SKILL-BUILDING ACTIVITIES SUCH AS THE DEVELOPING PEER-LED PODCASTS AND PEER-LED PHOTOVOICE PROJECTS. FOCUS WILL ALSO ENHANCE THE LINKAGES WITH EXISTING RESOURCES TO BETTER COORDINATE RSS AND OTHER SERVICES (E.G., TANF, MEDICAID, CHILDCARE, LEGAL, EMPLOYMENT, FINANCIAL LITERACY, VOCATIONAL SERVICES). THIS PROPOSED PROJECT WILL REACH AT LEAST 300 INDIVIDUALS PER YEAR (A TOTAL OF AT LEAST 900) THROUGH THE VARIOUS PROGRAMS, ACTIVITIES, OUTREACH, AND TRAININGS HOWEVER, ONLY A PORTION OF THESE INDIVIDUALS WILL BE APPROPRIATE FOR THE GPRA REQUIREMENT OF COLLECTING CLIENT-LEVEL NOMS SURVEYS. THEREFORE, WE PROPOSE TO TARGET A MINIMUM TOTAL OF 175 UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS BY THE END OF THE PROJECT PERIOD.