Collaboration and Service Improvement:

• Implement recommendations from the 2022 Coalition Capacity Assessment to sustain and improve collaboration within the All Together coalition. 

• Increase access to SUD treatment and recovery support.

• Increasing access to medication assisted treatment programs. 

• Support harm reduction strategies such as Naloxone training and Drug Take Back Days.

Education:

• Disseminate informational material across sectors, promoting awareness of/access to harm reduction resources. 

• Promote and replicate (as needed) Mental Health Resource Guides created by MAHHC and All Together. 

• Increase reach of WeAreWorthwhile self-stigma campaign. 

Advocacy:

• Host Bi-State Legislative Breakfast every two years to engage state policy makers in discussion of local health priorities. 

• Collaborate with All Together partners to reduce stigma associated with substance misuse, addiction and co-occurring disorders. 

• Provide information for community members about changes in substance misuse related policy, such as cannabis legalization. 

Equity:

• Conduct qualitative needs assessments with the support of members of marginalized groups to identify health disparities and opportunities to address them. 

• Increase capacity of grassroots and small organizations representing people with lived experience of health inequities to address the concerns of their communities independently through grantmaking and technical assistance.

Synthetic opioid deaths have increased 97-fold since 1991, mainly due to the increased prevalence of substances like fentanyl. Individuals suffering from drug addiction often face systemic barriers to seeking help, with the average cost of drug rehabilitation per person at $13,475. A key tenet to reducing opioid overdose deaths is increasing access to Narcan, an opioid overdose reversal drug. However, to decrease the prevalence of drug addictions, rehabilitation programs should be offered at a low cost and covered by insurance.

• Public Health Council (PHC)
• Dartmouth Hitchcock All Together
• The Doorway/ Addiction Treatment Program (ATP)
• Habit OPCO
• Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC)
• Hartford Community Coalition (HCC)
• New Futures
• Upper Valley Community Health Equity Partnership (UVCHEP) Steering Committee

Data Overview: The CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) compiles data about the percentage of adults reporting heavy drinking. They call approximately 400,000 people each year as a representative sample to estimate metrics describing the United States population by county. 

Limitations: Considering the limitations of data modeling and methodology changes in 2016 and 2021 is important before using this metric to track progress. The BRFSS introduced changes in their methodology in both 2016 and 2021. Before 2016, the BRFSS collected data exclusively from landline phones. In 2021, they changed their estimation procedures to create more accurate small-area estimates.