By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
In response to an alarming number of opioid addictions and overdoses nearly a decade ago, the Wood County Addiction Response Collaborative was created.
In the last five years, more than 200 people successfully completed the opioid diversion program coordinated through the Wood County Prosecutor’s Office.
But as the number of opioid overdoses dramatically dropped off in the county, the ARC program was used less frequently. The availability of Narcan has meant that many overdoses go unreported, and addictions have shifted.
“A lot of folks have turned to other kinds of drugs,” like cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl, said Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Dobson.
So the ARC program is making a shift as well.
During a recent meeting with the Wood County Commissioners, Dobson was joined by Annie Wilson and Jordan Garza to talk about the new direction of ARC.
Wilson, administrative director of the prosecutor’s office, noted that in 2020 the ARC program was getting multiple reports each day of opioid overdoses. Those numbers have tapered off.
“Slowly, people realized they didn’t want to die,” she said.
The ARC program began in 2017 with four goals:
- Mobilize a quick response team that reached overdose victims within 72 hours to try to convince them of the value of breaking free from their addiction.
- Create a diversion program that gives addicts the opportunity to go through counseling and education in order to have their drug criminal charges removed.
- Working with probation to offer intervention in lieu of jail.
- Establish a drug court.
The first three goals were accomplished. And addicts who complete the diversion program and submit urine samples can file to have their drug charges dismissed.
“They have incentive to do that,” Dobson said of completing the program.
The ARC program has been funded in the past by grants from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, with the maximum received in the past being $50,000 a year. But this year, the Wood County program received a grant of $94,000, Wilson reported to the commissioners.
Garza has been hired as the new ARC program coordinator, and the prosecutor’s office believes the program still has value. The goal is to strengthen partnerships with area hospitals, probation officers, Wood County Jail, and the Wood County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services.
Emphasis will be placed on making sure addicts are linked with service providers and have safety plans.
“We are maintaining it, while pivoting so it’s a valuable, relevant program,” Dobson said.
