Thursday, April 25, 2024
4/25/2024
The Village for Families & Children’s Mobile MAT in Hartford: Increased Access to OUD/MOUD Services with VERV (Village Expanded Recovery Van) project will serve adults with opioid use disorder and co-occurring disorders in need of treatment and recovery support services. The project will serve a minimum of 488 individuals in the Greater Hartford region over five years (72 in Year 1; 104 in each of Years 2-5). Adults from other surrounding communities are invited to access services, however, Harford continues to be disproportionally impacted by the opioid epidemic and has been shown to have a higher unmet treatment need when compared to other regions in the state. In addition to these gaps, The Village and other agencies have identified several barriers to opioid disorder treatment such as access to MAT, transportation, and housing instability. The Village’s project goals focus on expanding capacity to offer MAT recovery support services and harm reduction tools for adults in high-need areas who are at increased risk of experiencing behavioral health disparities. This will be achieved through the establishment of the VERV which will provide mobile MAT services, and a new MAT clinic on Church Street in Hartford. These goals will be met through the following activities: 1. Purchase and modify a mobile MAT van and collaborate with the Department of Public Health to focus outreach on high-need areas, as well as building out the Church Street clinic to be ready to serve MAT clients. 2. Hire an additional 0.5 FTE suboxone paneled prescriber, 2.0 FTE Recovery Coaches, and 1.0 FTE Case Manager 3. Provide recovery support resources through collaboration with agencies that offer AA, NA, SMART Recovery; pro-social activities; transportation; housing supports; medical care; food; and clothing to reduce barriers to treatment. 4. Disseminate harm reduction tools such as Naloxone and fentanyl test strips. 5. Disseminate materials informing community members and community partners of available expanded MAT services, with a focus on reaching diverse populations. 6. Assess clients’ clinical and recovery needs utilizing evidence-based assessments and The Village’s Recovery Needs Assessment and provide a warm hand-off to evidence-based, clinical treatment or recovery support services, as appropriate. 7. Initiate treatment appropriate to clients’ personal history, primary language, and gender identity, utilizing a culturally informed approach. 8. Regularly assess if high-risk groups are proportionally accessing MAT-PDOA services and use this data to develop plans to address gaps in outreach, referrals, and recruitment, as needed.
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).
