Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Overdose Response - The Recovery Integration and Support Ecosystem (RISE) Program is a peer-led, data-driven initiative designed to reduce overdose deaths, expand access to medications to treat substance use disorders (SUDs) and enhance long-term recovery support for justice-involved individuals in rural Alabama. The program will serve individuals incarcerated at Bibb County Jail, Bibb Correctional Facility, and Aliceville Federal Correctional Institution, ensuring they receive structured, evidence-based interventions before and after release. The target population includes individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) and stimulant use disorder (StUD) who face heightened risks of post-release overdose, relapse, and recidivism. The program will provide critical prevention, treatment, and reentry support to individuals returning to Bibb, Winston, Greene, Walker, and Pickens counties, regions that struggle with high overdose rates, limited access to behavioral health services, and economic instability. To create a comprehensive recovery ecosystem, the RISE framework is built on two core tiers, Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services (Tier 1) and Capacity Building and Supportive Services (Tier 2). The program will integrate Peer Recovery Specialists (PRSs) into correctional and community settings to provide trauma-informed mentorship, overdose prevention education, and reentry navigation. PRSs will facilitate structured overdose education and naloxone distribution, ensuring that individuals preparing for release receive harm reduction education, naloxone access, and peer-led overdose response training. The program will expand medications to treat SUDs access within correctional facilities, with PRSs providing adherence support and post-release treatment coordination to ensure individuals remain engaged in care. The program will implement structured reentry planning, recovery housing navigation, and workforce development support to enhance post-release recovery stability. PRSs will assist individuals in securing stable housing through partnerships with the Alabama Alliance for Recovery Residences (AARR). They will work alongside Hope Inspired Ministries (HIM) and the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce (WACC) to connect participants to job training and second-chance employment opportunities. Recognizing the increasing prevalence of stimulant use, the program will expand evidence-based stimulant treatment services, equipping PRSs and behavioral health professionals with specialized training in contingency management, cognitive behavioral therapy, and stimulant-specific peer recovery interventions to improve outcomes for individuals with polysubstance use. The RISE program will leverage AI-assisted overdose mapping and real-time data analytics to enhance program evaluation, track emerging overdose trends, and ensure continuous quality improvement. The strategic plan will incorporate evidence-based policy recommendations, workforce expansion initiatives, and sustainable service delivery models to embed peer-led recovery support within correctional health systems and rural behavioral health networks. Through multisector partnerships, including the Alabama Department of Mental Health (ADMH), the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC), the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS), and local reentry organizations, RISE will ensure seamless service coordination across the continuum of care. Sustainability efforts will focus on Medicaid reimbursement for PRS services, expansion of the PRS workforce, and policy integration of peer-led recovery models within correctional and behavioral health settings. By embedding peer-driven interventions within correctional facilities and aligning reentry services with community-based resources, the RISE program will establish a scalable model that reduces overdose deaths, improves treatment retention, and strengthens long-term recovery outcomes for justice-involved individuals in rural Alabama.
