Opioid Response Program at Nevada Urban Indians, Inc. - The Opioid Response Program at Nevada Urban Indians, Inc. will serve Reno, Sparks, Carson City and the surrounding areas. The program goal is to educate the community on the extent of the opioid crisis, increase access to harm reduction services and ensure that culturally specific services are available to the American Indian and Alaskan Native population in the Urban areas of Northern Nevada. Northern Nevada is currently experiencing an increase of opioid related overdoses, many leading to fatalities. The Primary Care Clinic and Substance Abuse Counselor at Nevada Urban Indians, Inc. have been inundated by the need for help within our community. Nevada reports one of the highest increases in the past year across the country—a 49% increase in opioid related emergency room overdose visits. The main goals of the Opioid Response Program are 1) Build an effective Opioid Response Program team to carry out proposed programming, 2) Apply culturally-appropriate, evidence-based and best practices-based modalities to assess, prevent, and/or treat those dealing with opioid use disorders, 3) Increase access to harm reduction through expanding access to naloxone, 4) Expand access to Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) and improve care coordination for those at risk and diagnosed with opioid use disorder in Northern Nevada, 5) Increase community awareness and educate the community on the dangers of opioid abuse, prevention and harm reduction activities. Nevada Urban Indians, Inc. has a primary care clinic, behavioral health department and community programing services to be a “one-stop-shop” for community health and human service needs. The Opioid Response Program will hold educational classes for the community to learn how to support recovery, how to administer naloxone, safe medication storage, the dangers of opioid use, and much more. These educational workshops and programs aim to change the stigma of drug use and allow for increase care coordination throughout the community. By increasing access to harm reduction services such as naloxone and fentanyl test strips, the program shows care and concern to community members that many have dismissed. Increasing the number of providers offering MAT and the availability of counseling hours, Nevada Urban Indians, Inc. will make a significant positive impact on the community. The Opioid Response Program at Nevada Urban Indians, Inc. respectfully requests $500,000 for the first year of this 5 year project performance period. Upon reading the Community Opioid Intervention Prevention Program Pilot reports, Nevada Urban Indians, Inc. recognized the need for these programs within Northern Nevada.
