Implementation and Evaluation of PEERhelp Rural Communities Opioid Response Program

PEERhelp was started to improve quality of life for individuals in treatment and recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) by addressing their health-related social needs through tailored social support, resource navigation, and advocacy. PEERhelp seeks to assist all people returning from incarceration or treatment for SUD in having a seamless reentry into society with access to the necessary resources and opportunities to succeed. This will decrease the morbidity and mortality of SUD and recidivism in Appalachia. Preparing incarcerated individuals for employment upon their release is a key part of ensuring successful reentry and can lessen the rate of recidivism. PEERhelp brings together various community organizations to form a network of services to combat SUD. Through a multifaceted approach the program educates the community on overcoming the stigma of SUD, educates people with SUD on available services in the community, and helps to guide them into treatment. Specifically, the program provides enhanced counseling for SUD treatment with expanded peer support opportunities, support care coordination to remove barriers to treatment, and connections to gainful employment and sustainable income. PEERhelp hypothesizes that the strength of the program is in the Recovery Community Navigators that use lived experience to navigate participants who are being released from incarceration. Working with an evaluation team from East Tennessee State University, PEERhelp will discuss their ongoing evaluation efforts with session attendees.