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Misuse of opioids can lead to serious issues such as addiction and overdose, and continued manufacturing of these types of drugs brings severe risk and harm to communities. In response to this issue, the City of Reno joined the One Nevada Agreement on Allocation of Opioid Recoveries, a statewide opioid lawsuit. The City of Reno is a beneficiary of the statewide opioid settlement.
As a settlement beneficiary, under this settlement agreement, the City is authorized to use and allocate its share of the recovered funds for a variety of opioid remediation efforts. The initiatives listed below represent a comprehensive approach to address the impacts of opioid misuse across multiple sectors of the community. These projects enhance public awareness, strengthen recovery efforts and partnerships, support City of Reno departments in providing warm handoffs, and expand the tools available for response and prevention.
Programs Supporting Opioid Awareness and Recovery in Reno
The Behavioral Health Association of Nevada (BAHN) has launched the Opioid Overdose Prevention Initiative, focusing on the Reno business community which has not historically been included in drug prevention efforts. The leaders and employees of these businesses, along with their families, are a critical part of the community as they are in a unique position to help with overdose prevention. The Opioid Overdose Prevention Initiative seeks pledges from business owners to help prevent opioid overdoses. Pledges will receive education materials and access to a Community Educator and Family Navigator who have lived experience with the complications of opioid misuse. BAHN will also host public workshops for the community regarding opioid use and overdose prevention.
National Alliance on Mental Illness Nevada (NAMI Nv) is hosting a Peer Recovery and Support Specialist cohort initiative, designed to train individuals with lived experience on the appropriate procedures and techniques for working with community members actively struggling with opioid addiction. NAMI Nv also provides crisis intervention and peer support to the community, critical for the prevention of opioid overdose and recovery efforts.
Care Solace has partnered with the Washoe County School District to connect young individuals and their families who may be struggling with mental health and addiction to the appropriate resources. Care Solace works to connect community members with different types of insurances and financial means to the appropriate providers.
The Domestic Violence Resource Center is using funds to expand their existing behavioral health program tailored to provide services for domestic violence survivors experiencing difficulties with opioid and other substance misuse.
The Washoe County Human Services department works closely with the Reno Municipal Court to help provide housing to individuals that have struggled with mental health and addiction problems. For more information on the CrossRoads program, visit the Washoe County website.
The Reno Police Department is receiving funds from the settlement to purchase a GEMINI Device which helps officers in the field to quickly identify unknown substances, including opioids, without sending samples to a lab. This will substantially reduce response time to potential overdoses or serious drug reactions.
DROPS is a mobile application designed to transform the way outreach workers assist unsheltered individuals by connecting them to the right service at the right time. Through settlement funds, it has supported the development and improvements of DROPS to enhance data collection and develop a deeper understanding of the unsheltered community and their needs.