FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — More help is coming to support people struggling with substance abuse and misuse in Fayette County and beyond through the launch of the state’s first Police and Peers Program.
The Department of Health and Human Resources Office of Drug Control Policy is partnering with the Fayetteville Police Department, West Virginia Sober Living, and Recovery Point West Virginia to oversee the new peer recovery support services program.
It will usher in the mitigation and reversal of opioid use, and include case management and motivational interviewing to de-escalate situations involving behavioral health, substance use, and domestic violence. The program will also provide referrals and treatment for people to get further help with substance misuse.
The Interim Director of the West Virginia ODCP, Rachel Thaxton, said that following the $3.16 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to fund the program over four years, they took the opportunity to collaborate with local law enforcement to get it off the ground.
“Law enforcement is a partnership that we’re always trying to strengthen, and so, we saw this opportunity when the SAMHSA grant was released to place peers and law enforcement agencies around West Virginia, and we took that opportunity,” Thaxton said.
The program works by pairing Peer Recovery Support Specialists with law enforcement officers to go and respond to certain substance abuse and misuse cases that pertain to non-violent, non-law enforcement-specific occurrences.
Thaxton said that once an emergency call is made to law enforcement, and after they have responded to the scene and have settled any legal disputes or issues, they will call the peer support specialists to the scene if they determine that they are needed.
“They can clearly see that the people involved may have substance use disorder issues or other special service needs, then they will call the peer out to the scene and allow them to deal with those issues, which they’re experts in,” she said.
The peer support specialists are hired from Recovery Point and WV Sober Living.
The DHHR, regional recovery services, and local law enforcement have all been firsthand witnesses of the opioid crisis that has pervaded the state throughout recent decades, and they recognize that there is a great need for such a service that the program will provide to help alleviate the epidemic.
Fayetteville Police Chief, Glenn Chapman, said that based on such a need, the program will help serve as a step toward recovery.
“I see the need in our communities of people needing help in many ways including substance misuse. I believe the Police and Peers program is a step in the right direction,” said Chapman. “Not only does it help the community, but it helps the first responders. Together, we will change lives.”
Thaxton said this program will provide an even greater outlet to offer to residents who need help.
“Really is just another chance for us to do outreach and have another touchpoint to reach out to people,” she said. “This population can be difficult to reach sometimes and this just give us another way to interact with them and let them know what’s available for them in West Virginia,” Thaxton added.
While the Fayetteville Police Department was the first to sign on to the Police and Peers program, Thaxton said other law enforcement agencies across the state are also starting to join the initiative.
The ODCP will work to train law enforcement on the awareness and stigma behind Substance Abuse Disorder, an endeavor which Thaxton said they are excited to extend to them.
“We’re always excited about forming those relationships, because, they do play such a vital role in someone’s pathway to recovery sometimes,” Thaxton said.
The Logan Sheriff’s Department, Bluefield and Princeton police departments, and the Morgantown Police Department are more agencies which are expected to be implementing the program in the near future.