Substance Misuse Assistance Response Team = SMART

The lack of diversity is especially marked in the clinical BH service delivery

Anchor Recovery has put diversity at the top of our training and hiring protocols. We feel strongly that recoverees need to feel and see equality and diversion in our direct service requirements and our training protocols. We have a long way to go as a community.

Sec Jones, thank you for that question, I am a co-chair of the GOTF Racial Equity Work Group and would enjoy touching bases with you regarding diversity. My email is dbailer@weberrenew.org

New classes are forming to become a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist. Anyone interested should reach out to a CPRS at any of our Recovery Centers. Diversity is welcomed!

Kudos to Jonathan for helping our coalition and Coastline achieve this designation!

Thrive is very honored to be a part of this important initiative!

https://bhddh.ri.gov/whats_new/pdf/Drug%20Take%20Back%20Day%20-Disposal%20Sites%2010.24.2020%20updated%2010-13-2020.pdf?

Amen!

Speaking the truth, thank you Machiste!

Yes Machiste!

Thank you Machiste!

Thank you Machiste!!!!

^^ shame on PPD for trying to arrest these people. thank you for bringing this to our attention Machiste

Thank you, Machiste!!

THANK YOU Machiste.

wonderful message

So eloquently expressed Machiste! Thank You!

Thank you Machiste

Thank you, Machiste!

Wow Machiste, Thank you for this. Thank you for advocacy!

Thank YOU Chiste!!!

🙏

Thank you so much - very powerful.

Thank you

very well said! So powerful! Thank you!

awesome job Machiste

Thank you for your powerful message Machiste

Machiste, thank you for that. amazing

Great words for us to remember everyday. Thanks Machiste!

Thank you, Machiste. Onward.

Making sure I saw this right: The rate among Hispanics has DOUBLED at the same time period the rate for non-hispanic has increased safter mostly decreasing. The Hispanic rate was growing that entire time, never decreasing.

Is there any Scituate and North Kingstown representation?

What was the total number of overdose deaths in North Kingstown?

Is there any correlation with an uptick in unemployment and the hot spots? Is Cocaine use increased among all age groups or the younger cohort?

Do we know if this uptick was after March

Hide Driscoll, I think the uptick started closer to December 2019

Thank you, great data and update on work underway.

Did DLT get a grant to train opioid healthcare workers? How can we find out please?

Thank you ladies!!

Is there an opportunity to link the follow up on ROAD recommendations by linking to evaluation of the mini/other grants and projects like CODE?

Working with Public Housing to install Narcan boxes to help address the private settings overdose.

they did 1.3 million

Can someone provide information for accessing slides from these meetings?

Pawtucket has installed Naloxboxes in all public housing sites....we need to better track how many times they are used

The slides can be found on the www.PreventOverdoseRI.org in the presentation archive. The slides can be viewed by clicking the month and year.

https://preventoverdoseri.org/presentation-archive/

looking across the data shared this and last time, it seems we lose many people who are not connected to care, services, formal labor sources....it seems like we should spend some time trying to understand who we are missing, who is not connecting, who is not “likable” across our datasets (or maybe are only “found” in one dataset). I hope we can listen not just to the data but also to the data silences.

Please do reach out to me if you have people in mind that we should talk to! My e-mail is Sarah.SaintLaurent@bhddh.ri.gov and my desk phone is 401-462-0950

Thank you Traci. Great point and I agree.

Contact information for Kim and Marti: Kimberly.paull@ohhs.ri.gov, marti.rosenberg@ohhs.ri.gov

Trauma treatment and also grief counseling for all ages

Expanding access to naltrexone (oral and/or long acting injection) for people with addiction who use substances other than opioids (that may have opioid unintentionally mixed in)…. may reduce impulsivity around use, reduce effects of euphoric recall and decrease unintentional OD from those using non-opioid substances. Access to naltrexone remains a barrier.

Thanks, Kim, for an excellent overview of the quantitative component of the overdose evidence update!

RICares would be happy to be involved.

Is the decrease in deaths of 18-19 year olds year-over-year indicative of effective youth prevention work?

Good point Jonathan

Thank you Kim and Marti for a powerfully informative presentation.

Thank you Kim and Marti!

Thank you Kim and Marti!

The Regional preventions would also be happy to be part of focus groups

thank you Laurie

When we continue to punish drug users with punitive arrests (with Black and Hispanic people still being significantly overrepresented in these numbers) we continue to push stigma against people who use. We cannot continue to employ strategies from the failed, racist War on Drugs. Overdose Prevention sites, drug testing, low barrier naloxone and syringe access are shown to be successful.

I am not opposed to “take back” events, but am not aware of any data to suggest that they have any meaningful impact, and do provide “cover” for the DEA that they point to, instead of other more effective strategies that could be pursued like expanding access to buprenorphine

Collective Impact is a powerful tool it integrate and align efforts

Hear! Hear! Thank you Christa.

Continue to look at all the qualitative data points mentioned in the slides. Specifically, isolation, corrections, unemployment, homelessness and housing insecurity. Building individual and community recovery capital and continuing to discuss all social determinants of health.

Thanks Jody, I have always believed that too....more of a "Just Say No" approach!

If any of the organizations need the Narcan specific materials (stickers for boxes or windows to help identify the location of Narcan, etc.) I am happy to provide those for you. Also I have some training demos and other educational materials I am happy to provide and mail out if that is helpful for an organization providing training. Please feel free to email me bretonk@ebsi.com (Emergent BioSolutions)

And we have to follow the “science”. Harm reduction is a best practice because it works!

Agree, Machiste. Well said.

Again, the stigma prevents progress!

Everyone said Housing First was a crazy idea when it first came out - but it proved everyone wrong - 85% success rate nationally and here in Rhode Island when we piloted it - 90% success rate.

Excellent, Diego!

Thank you Diego

Director Power made a great point about looking at other countries and their success and replicating the things that are working! Political will is key with Harm Reduction Sites or Safe Injection Sites.

Did we need to do intensive studies on over incarcerating people, or did we just fill the prisons, KNOWING that poverty is a driver for crime?

Great points both Diego and Carol. We have the data to support OPCs.

There is data and support already. We do have people that have looked at the data that already exists on OD prevention sites.

YES!!!

We need to follow the science. We know that fatal overdoses occur when people use alone, without naloxone. We know this will save lives.

Thank you Linda. So much! :)

THANK YOU LINDA!!

And we need to build the public will to drive the political will! Educate the general public about why OPCs work and the data that shows they work!

Exactly, Linda Hurley. We are going to lose too many lives. Let’s stop it now!

I agree

Again, the criminalization of addiction imposes a low ceiling on all our efforts

Such a wonderful conversation everyone - thank you!!

Well said Linda!

I agree Dennis

Thank you Dennis

I have emailed the Providence Journal editor to follow up on the article they did on the uptick with overdose deaths with successful strategies around the globe regarding this crisis. I suggested Canada’s safe injection sites as well as Portugal’s decriminalization, and other working solutions from around the country. I think we need more people contacting the media to educate the public and sway public opinion towards these trends that are helping.

Thank you Dennis... on point as always

Yes Dennis, well said & so important....they are a difficult entity to engage but so integral.....maybe the leadership in the state can be helpful in this pursuit

Regulation can also impact our ability to provide harm reduction efforts.

Thank you Dr. McDonald

We can look at working with law enforcement to fully support harm reduction efforts that are legal. For example, we hear from street outreach that law enforcement is confiscating clean needles and naloxone.

In some communities. Certainly not in all.

Great idea!

Great idea Sarah!

I second Sarah's motion for a concensus statement.

Can we follow up with Sarah’s idea?

Yes.

Yes Sarah!

I vote for Sarah’s idea too

Agree with Dr. Fessler! Laws don't change unless we all advocate.

We should look at having focus groups including individuals in the OTPs and people who are actively using to see how they would utilize OTCs. Without input from people who would utilize, how can we create a program structure that will be successful

Machiste L. Rankin mrankin@ricars.org

With you sara