Dutchess County is using $1.95 million it has received as the first payment in the Opioid Manufacturers Settlement to cover costs of launching new programs to deal with opioid abuse. Dutchess County may receive as much as $11.5 million in the coming years as part of the settlement.
The Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health (DBCH) is involved in the new programs that include LEAD, Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion; an empowerment center; and the St. Joseph”™s Addiction Treatment and Recovery Center.
“Dutchess County remains a leader in the state and nation with our inventive services and programs to assist those in the grip of substance use and behavioral health issues,” County Executive Marc Molinaro said, “We will continue to innovate to serve those in Dutchess County in the throes of addiction and mental health struggles, using these funds paid by three opioid manufacturers whose products caused immense harm to so many.”
The Dutchess County Legislature voted unanimously in August to amend the county budget and utilize the $1.95 million to fund the LEAD program, Empowerment Center and St. Joseph”™s Treatment and Recovery Center.
LEAD is a program to reach out to people with behavioral health needs who often wind up in the criminal justice system. Police often are required to deal with them for a variety of violations such as drug use, public intoxication, or as a result of a call about someone creating a nuisance. Funding of $343,000 will be utilized for initial staffing and law enforcement training for the LEAD program.
Law enforcement officers will participate in additional mental health and harm-reduction training. They”™ll be given the opportunity to use their discretion when they have contact with a person affected by drug addition to divert the individual to the LEAD program, rather than arresting or ticketing him or her.
Case managers will be assigned to selected people and work with them to develop an individual intervention plan, which could include assistance with transitional and permanent housing, treatment, education, job training and placement, or childcare. Case managers will work to assist people in overcoming obstacles that may have prevented them from getting help previously.
Other organizations initially involved in LEAD include:
- Dutchess County Public Defender”™s Office;
- Dutchess County District Attorney”™s Office;
- Dutchess County Probation;
- City of Poughkeepsie Police Department;
- Mental Health America of Dutchess County;
- Community provider agencies including Sun River Health and Hudson Valley Community Services;
- and grassroots organizations, including Hope not Handcuffs.
DBCH has established an Empowerment Center to provide support for those battling opioid use and other substance use disorders. The Empowerment Center is designed to provide support without barriers such as paperwork or insurance requirements. It is a drop-in center where individuals at any stage of their recovery can stop by for support and conversation with others who are also in the process of recovering from drug abuse. The Empowerment Center currently is operating at DBCH”™s 230 North Road campus in Poughkeepsie and recovery coaches are available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Empowerment Center is expected to soon move to a permanent location on Main Street in Poughkeepsie near the train station. Opioid settlement funds amounting to $107,000 will be used to pay for setting up the new site. It is expected that the new site will offer extended weekday hours as well as being open on weekends. People will be able to go to the Empowerment Center as often as they need to for support, even if it is every day.
Dutchess County will utilize about $1.5 million to create a multibed in-patient long-term treatment center for individuals with substance use disorder and co-occurring mental health challenges in partnership with St. Joseph”™s Addiction Treatment & Recovery Center. The county says that long-term treatment, approximately six to nine months, is not now readily available in the region.
The new St. Joseph”™s Addiction Treatment & Recovery Center will be located in Poughkeepsie at the former Catharine Street Community Center property and is expected to open in late 2023.
Jean-Marie Niebuhr, the county”™s deputy DBCH commissioner and director of community services, said, “These three new programs will support so many in Dutchess County and are the latest examples of Dutchess County”™s commitment to the most vulnerable individuals in our community. These initiatives will save lives and will make a lasting positive impact in Dutchess County for years to come.”
