Syringe Exchange Gets Two More Years in Tippecanoe County

Gateway to Hope, Tippecanoe County’s syringe exchange program, has been extended for another two years. Commissioners at the health department voted to continue the program, which provides clean needles and kits to injection drug users to help prevent the spread of hepatitis C, HIV, and other communicable diseases and helping individuals move toward substance use recovery. Commissioner David Byers stated that Gateway to Hope fits in the program goals and is preparing to renovate community corrections facilities to incorporate more treatment options and job skill opportunities.

SAMHSA’s GAINS Center Announces Criminal Justice Communities of Practice

SAMHSA’s GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation, known nationally for working with people with behavioral health needs involved in the criminal justice system, is convening four topical Communities of Practice (CoPs) to work intensively with select communities on the following topics:

• Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Reentry
• Engaging Clients for Successful Reentry
• Effectively Identifying & Treating Justice-Involved Individuals with Polysubstance Use Disorder
• Building a Competent Crisis Care System at Intercepts 0-1

Each CoP brings together local jurisdiction teams to create coordinated local strategic plans and implementation strategies for the topic of focus. Selected teams for each CoP will work to determine the best ways to implement best practices and define success indicators for their respective CoP. 

Applications will be due Dec. 16.

Assessment and Intervention Center Opens in Indianapolis

The Assessment and Intervention Center, or AIC, has opened to help those who have been involved in the criminal justice system with a mental health or substance use disorder. Located in Indianapolis’ Criminal Justice Campus, AIC offers services such as addiction withdrawal treatment and connecting people to vital resources, such as housing. The center, which opened on a $2.7 million budget, has 30 beds, offering individuals a safe place to stay, as well as a mental health crisis team that will be staffed 24 hours a day to help assess the needs of those who are referred. At full capacity, AIC will be able to house up to 60 people. The overall goal of the Assessment and Intervention Center is to provide people a way to receive treatment and mental health services outside of a jail or hospital setting.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Community of Practice Lunch and Learn: Harm Reduction Webinar

11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET, Dec. 9

This webinar will provide an overview of Harm Reduction, and explain how Harm Reduction practices help save lives and reduce overall harms. It will explore opportunities to embed evidence-based public health and lifesaving practices and some promising practices in various intercepts of the Sequential Intercept Model. Strategies for existing infrastructures to promote and accelerate access to life-saving resources in our communities will also be discussed.

Click here to register.

Opioid Tapering Webinar

11 - 12:15 p.m., Dec. 9

The Center for Innovation in Academic Detailing on Opioids (CIAO) is kicking off its quarterly webinar series. The topic of the first webinar will be opioid tapering, including if and when to taper, how to create a "patient-centered" plan, and mechanics of a taper. This information will be presented using CIAO’s Opioids and Chronic Pain: A Guide for Primary Care Providers guidebook.

Click here to register.

Heroes for Recovery Luncheon and Symposium

Thursday, Dec. 10

Heroes for Recovery is Mental Health America of Indiana's annual recognition program that celebrates the dedication and commitment of those that truly promote recovery of individuals in their ongoing treatment of serious and persistent mental illness and addictive disorders. The event consists of a full day symposium and an accompanying celebratory luncheon.

Click here to register.

Breaking Intergenerational Patterns of Addiction, Trauma and Dark Secrets in Families

 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. Dec. 10

Hosted by Great Lakes PTTC, this webinar will focus on patterns of addiction, trauma, and drug- related fatalities in families that can be traced back through four or five generations. Presenters will discuss prevention, intervention, and treatment strategies to help break these intergenerational patterns. The roles of prevention specialists, therapists, providers, trauma specialists, persons in recovery, families, and entire communities in breaking these patterns will also be discussed.

Click here to register.