Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Overdose Response - The overarching goals of the proposed project are to prevent overdose deaths, to address the increasing rate of infection from drug use, and to support historically underserved vulnerable populations, such as incarcerated individuals and unhoused people in their recovery. Populations of particular interest to the proposed project within the target rural service include socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, and homeless and incarcerated people, which are also focus populations for this project. These groups have historically suffered from poorer behavioral health/SUD outcomes, health disparities, and other inequities as compared to the rest of the population. The Rural York County Overdose Response Project, which will complement the current MaineHealth/Southern Maine Health Care RCORP Implementation IV grant, will work to address gaps and unmet needs that have been identified through previous RCORP awards but are not addressed with current funding. These identified needs include: (1) widespread, easy access to Narcan® and other harm reduction and wound care supplies, and (2) access to Peer Recovery Services for the residents at the York County Jail, located in Alfred, Maine. The key strategies that will be implemented to address these needs are the installation of Naloxboxes® at sites throughout the target rural service area, the distribution of Narcan® through several different channels including harm reduction “release bags” given to residents upon their discharge from the Jail, the provision of harm reduction and wound care supplies to unhoused individuals, and engagement of peer recovery coaches to support residents and peer recovery coach trainers to provide residents with the opportunity to become recovery coaches themselves.
