SOAR is a collaborative community response to the opiate crisis
The Woodrow Project is partnering with the following agencies to create a rapid overdose response pilot program:
- City of Lakewood
- Lakewood Fire Department
- Cleveland Clinic Lakewood & Lutheran Emergency Departments
- Cleveland Clinic Endocarditis Unit
- Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Mental Health Services(ADAMHS) Board of Cuyahoga County
- Berea, Strongsville, Middleburg Heights, Olmsted Township, Newburg Heights, Bedford, Lakewood, and Solon Police Departments
SOAR is a Peer Support Specialist Model
The Woodrow Project will dispatch a state certified Peer Support Specialists, who will respond and provide support.
SOAR has three primary goals
- Reduce opiate misuse and number of fatal overdoses
- Provide rapid access to treatment + recovery support
- Evaluate the impact of the program to determine if possible for local replication
Why Peer Support
A Peer Support Specialist is a person in longtime recovery who can offer their unique, lived experience when someone has just survived perhaps the most difficult time of their life. They are the critical link between the treatment system and the larger communities in which those who are struggling with addiction live.
A Peer Support Specialist must complete a 40-hour in-person and 16-hour online training through Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services, background check and Continuing Education requirements. Continuing education and training is provided on a monthly basis addressing various topics including but not limited to: Ethics, Motivational Interviewing, Boundaries in Peer Support work, and other topics relevant to their work with opioid use disorders.
Why it Works
The role of the Peer Support Specialist will assist individuals to:
- Embark on the recovery process
- Navigate the treatment system
- Model effective coping techniques + self-help strategies
- Advocate for effective recovery services
- Link to comm unity resources
- Connect to natural supports
- Educate throughout recovery
- Collaborate + engage community
Reducing Stigma
The language we use to talk about addiction and mental health shapes our community’s perspective. Stigma continues to be a serious barrier when it comes to people seeking support and resources. When one person struggles with addiction, it not only affects them but their family, friends, neighbors and community as a whole. Everyone can play a role in helping break down the stigma associated with addiction by choosing language that redefines the stereotypes and promotes a community of support.
Below are suggested terminology to start using to help reduce the stigma associated with addiction:
- Misuse or addiction (rather than abuse or habit)
- Addiction survivor
- Person with…(rather than addict, junkie or user)
- Person in active addiction
- Person with a substance misuse disorder
- Person experiencing a drug/alcohol drug program
- Person in recovery
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CURES ACT Funding Data Reporting |
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Peer Support Services |
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AGENCY NAME: The Woodrow Project- Project SOAR |
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MONTH: Total January through October 2019 |
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Number of persons seen this month- seen at Emergency Department, Home Visit and Safe Station |
114 |
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Number that initiate treatment services |
95 |
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Number that initiate non-peer recovery support services- This includes seeing family members during home visits |
75 |