Healthworks Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) - Healthworks Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) will focus on adults with substance use and co-occurring disorders who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability in Windham County, Vermont. Healthworks ACT will: A) Provide onsite treatment and care for 50 people with substance use or co-occurring disorders, who are accessing emergency housing services; B) Employ the ACT model for an integrated substance use, mental health, and medical treatment approach, C) Bring together mental health clinicians, psychiatric and medical providers, peer advocates, and outreach case managers in a multidisciplinary project. The goal of Healthworks ACT is to provide integrated substance use treatment, medical care, and supportive services to at least 100 unduplicated individuals with substance use (SUD) and co-occurring disorders (COD) who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability by year three of funding. Strategies and interventions for Healthworks ACT’s integrated care and services include a multidisciplinary approach to screenings, assessments, and treatment planning for SUD/COD; provision of treatment for SUD/COD including prescribing and managing medications for alcohol and opioid use disorders (MAUD/MOUD), individual and group psychotherapy, and peer recovery support services; medical care for complications related to substance use; tobacco cessation strategies; peer support and advocacy, and outreach case management with housing navigation services. Additional strategies include integration of primary care services into the ACT model, infectious disease care and management, low-barrier approaches to MOUD/MAUD, and housing navigation and retention services from Outreach Case Managers. Measurable objectives are: ● Implement an interdisciplinary Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team with onsite, integrated substance use, mental health, and medical care, peer support, and case management services at the emergency shelter facilities, with the target of serving 50 adults experiencing homelessness or housing instability in year one. ● Provide onsite medical treatment and care, including medications for substance use, with a target of serving 50 people experiencing homelessness or housing instability in year one. ● Provide accessible, trauma-informed, onsite substance use and mental health treatment to 50 people experiencing homelessness or housing instability in year one. ● Provide accessible, trauma-informed peer support services with a target of serving 50 people experiencing homelessness or housing instability in year one.
