The City of Meriden's Meriden Opioid Referral for Recovery (MORR) program seeks enhance support to first responders and members of other key community sectors to administer Naloxone for emergency reversal of known or suspected opioid overdose and provide harm reduction outreach and trainings in our city. MORR focuses on First Responders (FR) using Narcan to reverse opioid overdose and then making the connection to services for their client by access the Rushford Center, Inc's Mobile Crisis Unit.
The population of focus will be persons who use substances (PWUS) and those with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) in need of treatment and recovery supports, focusing on the African American population. MORR will reach a minimum of 325 unduplicated persons annually (1,300 over the lifetime of the project) with direct interventions and harm reduction/mental health trainings.
Interventions will include FR referral to Rushford Mobile Crisis clinicians post overdose, treatment and recovery services, harm reduction outreach, community training on Naloxone/Good Samaritan Laws/Question Persuade Refer (QPR) suicide prevention/Mental Health First Aid, and population of focus involvement to ensure services are provided with a health equity lens.
MORR has 3 goals, all with measurable objectives: Goal 1: Enhance education and prevention programming to Meriden residents through implementation of evidenced based and promising prevention approaches on opioid harm reduction, opioid overdose reversal and risk of opioid use or misuse. Goal 2: Increase FR, key community sectors and general community member capacity to address OUD and related mental health concerns through training on mental health and carrying and administering Naloxone. Goal 3: Establish processes, protocols, and mechanisms for FR referral to culturally appropriate, evidence-based, trauma informed treatment and recovery supports for individuals who have experienced an overdose, are at risk for an overdose, and their families, in accordance with CLAS standards and use of DIS information.
The program understands the importance of diversity, cultural competence, and the value that those with lived experience bring in substance use programs. MORR will hire an outreach worker with lived experience to engage individuals on the street, to engage persons of color, and other vulnerable populations that are often missed through traditional treatment methods. With fentanyl and now xylazine showing up in opioids and causing an increase in fatalities, direct interventions in the neighborhoods that need it most will allow for education on the substances as well as Naloxone distribution in real time.
The MORR program has a solid foundation thanks to a prior FR-CARA grant, awarded from SAMHSA for the time period September 2018 to September 2022. As a result, if awarded, the City of Meriden would be able to start project services immediately.