Saturday, May 4, 2024
5/4/2024
The Detroit Recovery Project (DRP) proposes the "SQUAD" (Safe, Quick, Understanding, Accessible and Dynamic) Outreach Initiative to provide community-based overdose prevention, syringe services, and harm reduction to enhance overdose prevention, reduce the consequences of substance use disorder (SUD) and provide a continuum of care for racial and ethnic minorities and individuals. The area of focus for this initiative is the City of Detroit, which is in Southeast Michigan, within Wayne County. The target population for this initiative is racial and ethnic minority groups, primarily People who inject drugs (PWID) and People who use drugs (PWUD). DRP has identified a need for harm reduction in the target area due to the overwhelming data confirming the risk, economic conditions, and at-risk behaviors of the city's residents. Detroit is the epicenter of opioid overdose and fatalities in the state. Detroit is also Michigan's most populous city and the 4th poorest city in the United States. Impacted by the economic downturn, the city and its residents have experienced high rates of poverty, joblessness, homelessness, addiction, crime, poor health outcomes, and very slow recovery. Health disparities disproportionately affect the community due to pollutants, small living areas, lack of transportation, food deserts, and lack of healthful activities, leading to increased rates of asthma, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and other chronic illness. High rates of poverty, lack of resources, housing, and transportation perpetuate the severity of these chronic illnesses. The SQUAD will provide hybrid services and will: 1) Increase access to Harm Reduction services to the target community; 2) Increase the number of casual users accessing Harm Reduction services; 3) Decrease the stigma associated with Harm Reduction services, and 5) Prevent infectious disease for the target population and individuals at high-risk within our communities. The "SQUAD" will use the following evidence-based strategies to implement services: Anti-Retroviral Treatment and Access to Services (ARTAS), which is an individual level, multi-session intervention; Popular Opinion Leadership (POL), to educate key participants and increase dissemination of risk reduction practices to peers and Social Networking Strategy (SNS) to promote new participants accessing services at the mobile or fixed location. The "SQUAD" will meet these goals with respective objectives and impact the lives of providing service encounters to 1350 annually, provide 1850 referrals, and will link a total of 1200 individuals to care from the target population through these proven, evidence-based strategies.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
