Partnership Creates New City Initiative to Combat the Opioid Epidemic

We are proud to announce a joint partnership between Families Against Narcotics (FAN) and the Berkley Public Safety Department with the creation of:

FAN COMEBACK Quick Response Team (https://www.comebackqrt.com/)

This new initiative is a compassionate way to assist individuals struggling with addiction because of either

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) or Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). The Quick Response Team (QRT) is a three-member unit consisting of a police officer, certified peer recovery coach, and certified family recovery coach. Within 72 hours of a non-fatal drug overdose, this team “COMESBACK“ to the home where a first responder previously assisted with the life-threatening event.

The team’s objective is to make contact with the individual who overdosed, as well as their family. The team will offer compassionate support, information, and assistance in obtaining recovery services, in addition to connecting them with community resources.

This model has had significant success in other locations, like Huntington, West Virginia, where overdose ambulance runs were reduced by 40 percent in one year. Since its inception in February of 2020 as a pilot program with the Sterling Heights Police Department, FAN’s COMEBACK QRT initiative has expanded into
seven additional communities—Allen Park, Ferndale, Midland, Roseville, Saginaw, Taylor, and Waterford— and is preparing to launch soon in several more. To date, the QRT program has made 536 home visits and offered resources and support to 337 families.

Compassion truly is greater than stigma.

Please join us for a press conference on Monday, February 22 at 2 PM at the Berkley Public Safety Department, 2395 W. 12 Mile Rd., Berkley, to learn more about this new initiative. At this press conference, you will hear from multiple leaders from each facet of this program.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Erin Whitkopf | 586-876-4858 | erin@familiesagainstnarcotics.org

To view the press release, click here.