Innovative Initiatives

May 19, 2022 | Controlled Substances, Harm Reduction, Innovative Initiatives, Law Enforcement, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Health, Recovery, Substance Abuse, Treatments

The restaurant industry has been particularly impacted by the opioid epidemic with, for example, ten percent of food service workers dying from opioid overdoses in the State of Delaware.[1] This sobering statistic prompted the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) to launch the Restaurant Accolade Program (the Program), which trains all restaurant staff and owners in the state on how to identify, respond to, and reverse an opioid overdose and helps food establishments draft policies that support employees and patrons with substance use disorders (SUDs). The Office of Health Crisis Response (OCHR) within DPH conducts the training and education....

March 3, 2022 | Controlled Substances, Harm Reduction, Innovative Initiatives, Law Enforcement, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Health, Recovery, Substance Abuse, Treatments

When Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro learned that approximately 15 citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania die each day from an overdose, he took action. As a result, in May of 2018, he launched the Law Enforcement Treatment Initiative (LETI) to connect individuals suffering with a substance use disorder (SUD) to treatment resources....

October 1, 2021 | Controlled Substances, Innovative Initiatives, Opioids, Recovery, Treatments

A significant barrier to treatment for individuals struggling with a substance use disorder is the ability to find and access appropriate treatment and recovery services. Hope Not Handcuffs is an initiative that addresses this issue by having law enforcement personnel help those  struggling with a substance use disorder find pathways to treatment without arresting them....

June 29, 2021 | Innovative Initiatives, Opioids, Public Health, Public Safety, Synthetic Drugs

One of the ways in which jurisdictions are combating the epidemic of drug overdoses in communities is through the use of “spike alerts,” that is, targeted messages that notify recipients that there is an unexpected increase in drug-related overdoses in a specific area. The purpose of these notifications is to “reduce injury or death from opioid overdoses during spike events.” ...

April 27, 2021 | Innovative Initiatives, Public Health, Recovery

Project for Pride in Living (PPL) was founded in 1972 by Joe Selvaggio to create affordable housing for those in need. It began by renovating houses and now builds affordable housing for qualified individuals in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) area of Minnesota. Additionally, since its inception, PPL has offered employment training to the services it offers. ...