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###  The HOPE Initiative: A Community Partnership to Battle Opioid Addiction

 March 2017 | Volume 10 | Issue 3

One life at a time! That is the philosophy and  passion behind the HOPE Initiative. The police department and community  partners in Nashville, North Carolina, population 5600, launched the HOPE  Initiative on February 9, 2016 to combat opioid addition. 

If you want to know what the extent of the heroin  problem is in your community, talk to the charge nurses or doctors at your  local hospital; they will tell you how bad the opioid epidemic is in your area.  There are millions of family members watching their loved ones slowly  deteriorate from substance use disorder.   Even more tragic are those families that lose loved ones to overdose.  Embarrassed and ashamed because of the stigma that is attached to drug  addiction, they are hiding in the shadows. 

          The Nashville Police Department (NPD) was seeing many overdose calls and  wanted to help individuals with their disease, making the community safer and  reducing crime.  But arresting users and  putting them into jails does not solve the problem. So what else can law  enforcement do to help? 

The HOPE Initiative, is the only program of its kind in  North Carolina, assists individuals with substance use disorder to find  treatment options and to get into long term recovery. While other state  programs were centered solely around opioids, the HOPE Initiative was willing  to accept any substance use disorder patient, including abusers of cocaine,  alcohol, etc. During the planning and implementation phase, partnerships were  established with the local district attorney’s office, Eastpointe (LME), UNC Nash  Hospital, the Coastal Plain Hospital detox facility, the Police Assisted  Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI), and many others. 

The program allows individuals to come to the NPD,  turn over any drugs or paraphernalia without fear of charges, and to start  their recovery process. The first HOPE Initiative participant came to the  Nashville Police Department on February 17, 2016, in only the second week of  the program’s existance.  His story is  typical of the many that would follow. He had received surgery for his knee and  was given a prescription for Percocet. After receiving these opiates for  several months, he became addicted, and at some point, the prescription had  been cut off. Now the problem had grown to an addiction to opioids and the only  alternative for him was to turn to heroin—much cheaper and with no need for a  prescription. His life had spiraled out of control; he was losing the trust and  help of his family; and he finally became involved with the criminal justice  system. His life changed for the better when he walked into the NPD for  assistance through the HOPE Initiative. He was taken to detox, accepted into a  long-term treatment facility at no cost, and was on his way to getting his life  back. Eleven months later he is still in recovery and doing very well—drug  free.

The HOPE Initiative process starts when an  individual makes contact with an officer or walks into the police department  seeking help. They do not have to be residents of the town—or of the state, for  that matter. NPD then contacts a volunteer, many of whom have faced substance  abuse firsthand or watched a loved one struggle, who accompanies the  participant through triage and detox admittance. 

Finally, the initiative works with the families and  other partners to find longer-term treatment options. In July 2016, Nash County  funded Amanda Flory to take a transitional care social worker position at the  detox facility to help with placing individuals in long-term treatment  facilities. This simple move, coupled with the compassion that Amanda has for  helping those with substance use disorder, has had extraordinary effects.   

What has been the result of implementing the HOPE  Initiative?  Stronger partnerships with  the district attorney’s office, social services, community corrections, the  faith-based community, hospitals and clinics, treatment programs, and the  community at large. In the past 12 months, 108 people have participated in the  program, 53 have been placed in long-term treatment, 15 are awaiting long-term  placement, 40 are currently in outpatient care programs, and only 12 have  returned to using. Treatment programs are expensive and can range from several  hundred to several thousand dollars for each 30-day stay. This complicates  things, because many of those individuals who seek help have legal issues, a  lack of income, and no health insurance. The HOPE Initiative does not use any  ad valorem taxes to fund the program. It is funded through donations, grants,  and fundraisers. 

I would like to close with identifying some of the  struggles and needs that have arisen out of Implementing the HOPE Initiative  has identified points of struggle in combating addiction. First is the need to eliminate  the stigma that prevents people from seeking assistance. Substance use disorder  is a disease that must be treated, just like diabetes or cancer; it is not a  lifestyle choice. Second, there is a huge need for more treatment facilities.  The lack of bed space in long-term facilities can mean the difference between  getting someone on the right path and their return to use. Many person-hours  are spent trying to locate an open bed before the individual being helped has  left the detox facility—but each one is worth the time. One life at a  time!  

Chief Thomas Bashore          Nashville Police Department
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