The opioid epidemic, now a nationwide public health emergency, does not discriminate the individuals and communities that it impacts. Genesee County is no exception. According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Genesee County ranks third behind Wayne County and Macomb County in the number of opioid overdose deaths in 2019 at 138, down from 184 in 2018.1 In 2019, 70,630 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States, where opioids were involved in over 49,860, or 70.6% of all drug overdose deaths.2
Under the direction of the Mental Health & Substance Use Task Force, the Community-Wide Opioid Strategy seeks to engage children, seniors, and our community’s residents most impacted by the opioid crisis through a collaborative, multi-sector effort to build and strengthens current workforce capacity, utilize upstream prevention strategies, and create an innovative, integrated model that coordinates care, services, and community resources to improve the treatment for and prevention of opioid misuse.
Additional tools and community resources can be found at www.KnowMoreGenesee.org
An additional 2-year MHEF grant has been obtained to implement the “Integration of Peer Recovery Support Systems to Strengthen Access to Addiction Treatment” project.
Expansion of existing efforts include:
- Incorporation of peer recovery support services for non-opiate substances
- Integration of peer recovery coaches into community and clinical settings
- Development and distribution of non-opiate treatment resources