Advocacy Campaign
From this semester my group and I have gained a great deal of knowledge surrounding the opioid epidemic within the United States. With Harnett County specifically in concern, our research led us to some barriers that community members face when it comes to opioid addiction. These barriers include lack of sufficient treatment and support programs that are easily accessible for individuals struggling with addiction and their families to reach. With these barriers in mind we spent a majority of the semester trying to determine a plan that would be attainable for the county to implement but also one that community members would be willing to partake in. The difficulties we faced in determining how to properly help this community were frustrating, but it also provided us the opportunity to grow and really understand the dynamics when trying to implement a program, especially a community that lacks in a great deal of resources.
With discussions from our preceptor, Lieutenant Christensen, we learned that though the Sheriff’s Office is aware of the opioid epidemic, the lack of funding and general acceptability from community members it is hard to address the problem head on. For rural communities in particular the fact that “everyone knows everyone”, lack of transportation and general resources at arms reach it is just easier for those struggling with addiction to stay on the drugs and isolate themselves in an effort to avoid public scrutiny. With the obstacles at hand we began research to see if any other rural communities had devised a plan to deal with opioid issues.
Our research conducted it led to the discovery of the Angel Project. This was first implemented within a small town in Massachusetts and its goal was to allow anyone in search of help with an opioid addiction to come to the police station without fear of arrest to reach out for help. With the aid of the police department individuals were able to receive detoxification and rehabilitation. This was possible because the police department made sure that individuals had access to treatment by ensuring transportation. There were also individuals, Angel Volunteers, who were assigned to a person in need as a support system and another resource in finding proper treatments. The funding for this program came donations to the program and in 2018 eighty-seven participants were helped.
After analyzation of this program it was determined by all group members that this would be a beneficial program to work towards implementing within Harnett County. This is because there is already a foundation and evidence in helping another rural area within the United States. We believed the values and goals of this program would have a positive impact on those living within Harnett County and would be a step in the right direction of reducing the stigma surrounding drug addiction.
Stigma is a major issue we discovered throughout this semester. Even when someone has the ability to reach treatment they often shy away because they are afraid of the social backlash from their community members. The Angel Project would be a vital part in turning this issue around because it brings back positivity into a very dark situation. It allows people to feel more comfortable about their addiction and understand that it does not have to define their future. One of the major problems around addiction is that most people look at it as the end of someone’s ability to thrive and recover from.
With the Sheriff’s Office not having a real idea on an action plan to really turn this problem around within Harnett County it left us a little lost in determining an action plan. Though we hit some road blocks along the way in the end we were able to find this Angel Project which gave us all some hope to a brighter future for those living within Harnett County.
Therefore, we propose to the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office consider implementing aspects of the Angel Project into their community, specifically the security for struggling individuals to reach out to them in times of need without having to fear being arrested. We also propose partnering with Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI). This program supports police departments who are working towards implementing programs that provide a safe place for struggling individuals and aiding them in gaining the treatment they need in order to recover. This is especially important for this rural community that lacks in general funding and would provide the opportunity for the Angel Project to actually have a fighting chance in coming to Harnett County.