Blue Ridge Community Health Services, Inc.

The overarching goal of this project is to build and strengthen the capacity of four counties in Western North Carolina (WNC) to ensure a whole-person-centered, community-driven, proactive approach to substance use disorder/opioid use disorder (SUD/OUD) among incarcerated and recently released individuals. To achieve this goal, Western North Carolina Opioid Response Consortium will conduct planning and assessment activities; expand an existing multi-sector consortium; and engage community partners to develop a comprehensive medication assisted treatment (MAT) program in the high need areas of Avery, Jackson, Transylvania, and Yancey counties. To address these concerns, we propose the expansion of a multi-sector consortium to build on the existing reach of the lead applicant, Blue Ridge Community Health Services, Inc. (BRCHS). The consortium aims to complete a full assessment of the social determinants of health related to substance use as well as a county jail readiness assessment. These assessments will inform the consortium’s goal of developing and implementing a comprehensive MAT program for individuals involved with and released from the criminal justice system. To achieve this, consortium members will develop systematized protocols for assessment, referral, treatment, and follow-up; and will establish a network of behavioral health and peer support specialists (PSS) to treat and prevent opioid use and recidivism within each of the counties’ jail systems. As a result, we aim to achieve a 5% reduction in recidivism and a 10% reduction in opioid overdose deaths in this population.