South Boston has one of the highest rates of overdose from heroin and other opioid drugs in the city of Boston. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health reveals that in South Boston the highest rates of fatal and nonfatal overdose occur in individuals ages 25-44. This age group also constitutes the highest number of South Boston individuals in treatment for opioid addiction.(2004-2006 Massachusetts Department of Public Health Community Profile Data).
To combat this issue, the South Boston Hope and Recovery Coalition (SBH&RC), created the Hope Initiative through funding from the state of Massachusetts in the form of the MassCall2 grant. Strong support from Boston Public Health Commission, Mayor Thomas Menino and other local elected officials, and the South Boston Collaborative Center in both providing the space and direction has enabled the Hope Initiative to address this critical community issue.
The Hope Initiative is part of SBH&RC’s effort to reduce the amount of fatal and non-fatal overdoses through education around loss of tolerance upon discharge from treatment facilities, correction institutions and through the court system.
Interviews with community stakeholders revealed that the biggest factor leading to overdoses was loss of tolerance.
To dramatically increase awareness and tolerance, and therefore reduce overdose rates, the Hope Initiative & SBH&RC employs a comprehensive, multiple approach strategy that targets users 1) completing treatment, 2) completing detoxification, and 3) released from prison. These populations are most vulnerable to overdose resulting from loss of tolerance.
The pilot phase of the Hope Initiative launched last July, and became active in the following locations; The South Boston Collaborative Center, The Cushing House, and the South Boston Probation Department. Several months later with the success of the pilot phase we expanded to several other facilities and as of the time of this writing have enrolled over 100 individuals.
This pilot phase will be the first in a series of strong steps taken by SBH&RC and their community partners to combat this serious issue affecting our community.