Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Overdose Response - The FY 23 RCORP-Opioid Response grant, if funded, will supplement the activities established by the FY 20 RCORP-Implementation grant. This includes the following: serve as a gateway through which those with drug and alcohol problems can access services; provide family members and the community as a whole with access to education and medications for emergency overdose; provide access to MAT professional development for schools and social service agencies; support law enforcement; provide individuals with SUD/OUD and HIV or other infectious diseases referrals and navigation services for appropriate treatment; provide, virtually and face to face, substance abuse outreach, screening, assessment, outpatient treatment, referral to detox and higher levels of treatment by substance abuse counselors; provide case management after discharge from treatment with access to MAT, recovery housing, and recovery support services for Macon, Bullock, and Barbour counties; provide substance abuse prevention and early intervention; provide programming at Macon County middle schools; provide evidence-based prevention programs to other schools in the proposed service area; conduct state certified substance abuse assessments for the Macon County District Court and the Macon County CCP; and refer adults requiring detox services to Bullock County Hospital. All of these activities are vital in reducing the morbidity and mortality of individuals with SUD/OUD in high-risk rural communities because they provide education, access, and the recovery support services necessary to have a higher chance of survival. The target population for this grant are adolescents and adults in Macon, Bullock and Barbour counties who are at risk for, have been diagnosed with, and/or are in treatment or recovery for SUD/OUD as well as families, caregivers, community professionals, law enforcement and social service organizations. Many of these individuals are minorities, veterans, women, involved with the criminal justice system, individuals transitioning from incarceration and/or from detox/residential treatment in the proposed service area of Macon, Bullock, and Barbour counties. TEARS is proposing to serve this target population because of the urgent need, compounded by the serious inequity of resources. TEARS has already established a foundation of treatment in this area as well as the necessary partnerships to make the project successful.
