Summit Safe Syringe Exchange ‘plants just a little bit of hope' through harm reduction

Northern Maine is home to some of America's poorest - but it ranks high on national measures of health. Hospital programs visit more patients in their homes where they can be more comfortable and receive everything they need, which in turn reduces medical costs.

Crossroads for Women, a New Mexico nonprofit, is helping formerly incarcerated women find community, support, and recovery. Using trauma-informed care practices, the program offers a comprehensive list of services like housing, mental health treatment, employment counseling, and substance abuse treatment. Underlying all services is the understanding that no individual is trauma free and that community and relationships are crucial to sustainable recovery.

A New York City opioid treatment startup called Groups is a solution for small towns with limited access to care for people struggling with opioid addiction. They overcome the hurdles of high cost, proximity to care, and stigma that stymy government response by offering simple, one-size-fits-all, medically assisted group recovery.

The heroin and opioid epidemic in America has raised questions about how to effectively treat addiction. Many now say medication should be offered alongside counseling.

Across New Hampshire, youth are leading the fight against substance abuse. Programs like Dover’s Youth-to-Youth, Stand Up Sachems, Youth Leadership Through Adventure, and the Making it Happen Coalition, are all youth-led, adult-supported initiatives that are empowering young adults to create and disseminate substance abuse awareness and prevention campaigns. Fundamental to each of these efforts effective communication and creating a sense of community as key to prevention.

Vermont's hub and spoke model of care has gained notoriety as being a system that has successfully played a positive role in creating better access to health care, especially as it relates to the opioid crisis. Now, officials in New Hampshire are looking to scale and adapt the program to work in their state.

The Wraparound Project at Zuckerman San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center turns gunshot victims' hospital stays into "a teachable moment," by providing them with services aimed at helping them avoid a repeat injury. Getting shot once is a key risk factor for a second injury, particularly for gun violence's most common victims, young Black men. Wraparound is one of the nation's oldest hospital-based violence intervention programs. It has helped about 850 clients, mostly with mental health counseling, housing, and jobs. The program is associated with a decreased reinjury rate in San Francisco.

Fifty years on, America's war on drugs has failed at its principal goals: to eradicate illicit drug use and sales, to repair communities damaged by the drug trade, and to prevent drug-related deaths. Despite massive amounts spent on law enforcement, which has created great social harms and fueled incarceration, drug use has rebounded to 40-year highs, drug overdose deaths are peaking, and supply of illegal drugs is abundant. Policy advocates say a combination of legalization and public-health approaches to the problems would accomplish more than the wasteful, ineffective "war" mentality used to date.

Great Circle Recovery is the first tribally run opioid treatment clinic in the state and is opening up its second location. Approximately 250 people visit the clinic on a daily basis to access medications that help those suffering from addiction. The centers also provide access to counselors, case management and other medical services to support patients on their recovery journey.

The Cowichan Wellness and Recovery Centre works to combat the ongoing overdose crisis. The Centre offers services like mental health support and a community hub where people can access, test and use drugs safely, as well as connect with healthcare, detox, and treatment services. Not only have these services benefited people, and connected them with others in the community, but they’ve also led to decreased criminal activity like theft.