The "Story Behind the Curve" helps us understand the causes and forces at work that explain the data behind number of participants.

There is also a stigma around drug use and therefore some efforts to help the problem are not always effective.  They feel that healthcare providers and counselors make you feel bad for using and act as if the problem is your fault. Our Peer Support Specialists are a go between for their clients and the needs that they need met. Peer Support Specialists are connecting their clients to resources such as food, clothes, phones, sober living housing, Medication Assisted Treatment, mental health providers, recovery treatment, and support groups. The Peer Support Specialists help give their clients hope and are role models for recovery. The Peer Support Specialists help connect clients to the recovery community. The Peer Support Specialists are getting a connection to clients while they are in jail and let them know that once they are released from jail, to call them and they can help them get the resources they need to continue living in the recovery community. 

What's Helping What We Do? These are the positive forces at work in our strategy/ program that influence how much we do or how well we do it.

• Peer Support Specialists (PSS)
• Community Linkage to Care
• Appalachian Community Services substance use counseling
• Clients participation
• WNCAP at Grace Place twice a month.
• Justice-Involved communicable disease education and vaccination program

What's Hurting What We Do? These are the negative forces at work in our strategy/program that influence how much we do or how well we do it.

• Stigma
• Lack of resources for mental health and substance use
• Lack of sober living activities
• Lack of living wage/steady employment

The following actions have been identified by our team and community members as ideas for what can work for this performance measure to make a difference on Substance Use.

Actions and Approaches Identified by Our Team These are actions and approaches that we think can make a difference for this performance measure.

• Substance Use Coalition work
• ACE's training for teachers
• Community Linkage to Care
• Justice-Involved Communicable Disease Education and Vaccination Program

No-cost and Low-cost Ideas Identified by Our Team These are no-cost and low-cost actions and approaches that we think can make a difference for this performance measure.

• Reduce stigma
• Focus Group Interviews
• Community outreach/education

What communities served/customers think would work to do better These are actions and approaches that our communities served/customers think can make a difference for this performance measure.

• Increase access to treatment
• Increase access to mental health counseling
• Improve job availability
• Increase housing availability

List of Questions/Research Agenda These are questions to follow-up on for this performance measure. If you still need more information about what works to do better, make these questions part of your information & research agenda.

• How can we get more people in the door, needing the resources our Peer Support Specialists offer?
• What kind of incentive(s) could we offer that would help and not hinder?
• How can we improve the time period between justice-involved persons getting released from jail and them walking into our Peer Support Specialists office?