Mayor Arrigo, SUD Initiatives Office Host Public Forum On Revere's Continuing Response To Opioid Epidemic
May 4, 2017
On May 3, Mayor Brian Arrigo and the City of Revere: SUDI Office hosted a public forum at the Revere High School Learning Commons to update residents on the city's ongoing work to combat substance abuse, particularly opioids.
Last year, Revere became one of the only cities in the Commonwealth to open up an office dedicated to addressing this issue.
Over the past year, this office has:
- Coordinated all of the city's work related to Substance Use under one roof;
- Expanded the amount of city staff dedicated to addressing Substance Use Disorders;
- Expanded the "drop-in center" hours, which allow residents struggling with addiction or their family members to confidentially talk with health professionals, recovery coaches and public safety officials;
- Continued the work of the Outreach Team in conjunction with the Revere Police Department and Revere Fire Department, which connects residents who have recently experienced an overdose with resources that can help them;
- Convened a monthly Leadership Team meeting consisting of stakeholders in government, education, healthcare, treatment and recovery to serve as a Steering Committee for the office's work.
Over the next year, the SUD office will continue to strengthen its efforts, including:
- Working in conjunction with Mayor Arrigo's office to adopt the "Hub and Core" model, which brings multiple social service agencies and government entities to the table once a week to make plans to intervene and provide assistance to residents with high risk of harm;
- Under the Partnership for Success Grant, identifying opportunities to work with and educate Revere youth to prevent future drug use;
- Increasing their social media presence, and creating an advertising campaign that gets into coffee shops, restaurants, health care providers and convenience stores to make sure all residents who may be in need of services know what is available to them.
The work of the SUD office and our outreach team last year directly saved 87 precious lives through use of narcan, and indirectly impacted many more lives through helping connect residents with treatment and recovery programs.
While much has been accomplished, there is still much work to do - and The City of Revere is committed to providing the resources and support necessary to make this work successful.