Training and Support for Opioid Crisis Frontline Responders: Lessons From Georgia and Tennessee

The Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (GDBHDD) collaborated with the Georgia Public Safety Training Center to build capacity among law enforcement and first responders by developing and delivering a curriculum that provides participants with skills to better combat the opioid crisis. These skills include naloxone administration, de-escalation tactics, and how to build relationships with community partners to provide substance use and mental health services to those in need. Pre- and post-surveys of the State Opioid Adapted Response (SOAR) training revealed significant differences in participant confidence for specific skills, like managing an overdose situation, recognizing the symptoms of an opioid overdose, and administering naloxone while also providing basic life support and follow-up care post-administration.

In a 14-county, mostly rural area in southcentral Tennessee, the First Responder Resource Engagement Specialty Team (R.E.S.T.) program is a resource for first responders in their work with individuals with substance use disorder. The program uses a deflection and pre-arrest diversion model to connect individuals to the behavioral healthcare system, provide peer support, and harm-reduction resources. Care Coordinators provide peer support and work with a wide variety of service providers to best meet the needs of each individual referred. During the initial program implementation, feedback from first responders indicated the need to address mental health concerns of the responders themselves. Surveys with qualitative data guided revisions of the program’s training material to include expanded discussion of stigma, compassion fatigue, and burnout. The impact on first responders’ mental health and high workload may improve interactions with highly stigmatized populations such as those in need of behavioral healthcare services.