Operation Safe Station Addressing the Opioid Crisis—News on a Multidisciplinary Effort
December 17, 2-3PM EDT
This no-cost webinar is brought to you by The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) leadership, in collaboration with the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) team, TASC’s Center for Health and Justice, and the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
Arlington County (Virginia) leaders will provide an overview of Operation Safe Station. It is a multidisciplinary effort designed to reduce the dangerous impacts of opioids and other drugs in our community and promote treatment options. The County Office of the Commonwealth Attorney, the police department, the sheriff’s office, and the department of human services have collaborated to develop a process by which individuals who seek help with their drug use can self-report and receive services without fear of prosecution and incarceration.
This community-driven program saves lives every day by addressing the opioid crisis with significant issues affecting residents of all demographics. From 2014 to the present, there has been a steady, costly, and deadly increase in opioid-involved incidents responded to by fire/EMS units and investigated by police officers; in particular, both fatal and non-fatal overdoses. The opioid overdoses grew by 640 percent in two years in Arlington County.
Join us for a discussion of this program’s success to address the opioid crisis.