HRSA Rural Communities Opioid Response Program Grant

In June of 2019, the Snohomish Health District was awarded a Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) Planning grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The overall goal of RCORP is to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with substance use disorder (SUD), and opioid use disorder (OUD) in particular, in high-risk, rural communities across the United States. This is achieved through strengthening and expanding SUD/OUD prevention, treatment, and recovery services to enhance rural residents’ ability to access treatment and move towards recovery.

The RCORP-Planning award supported the newly-formed Snohomish County Rural Opioid Response Project Consortium, comprised of organizations serving rural populations in the Darrington and Sky Valley communities. With the aid of the RCORP-Planning grant, this group of dedicated community partners has spent hours planning how to best meet their communities’ needs to prevent, treat and support recovery for individuals with SUD and OUD. The consortium completed a detailed Community Gaps Analysis, Strategic Plan and Workforce Development Plan to guide this work. After months of planning, the Consortium applied for and was awarded the RCORP-Implementation grant, beginning September 1, 2020.  

The RCORP-Implementation funding will allow the Snohomish Health District and the Consortium to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with SUD and OUD in our rural Snohomish County communities. This will require an intentional focus on youth-focused SUD prevention using evidence-based strategies; work to prevent overdose and infectious complications among people who use drugs; an increase in the community’s capacity to provide effective SUD/OUD treatment; and a robust recovery support system. It will also require community education on addiction, mental health issues, and treatment options for SUD/OUD to address stigma and other barriers individuals face in accessing critical services. The SCROR Project will address the needs of individuals in the rural service area who are at risk for, have been diagnosed with, are in treatment for, and/or are in recovery from OUD. To meet all required project activities, and to ensure a broad and lasting impact of our efforts, our project will also engage with the families and caregivers of individuals with SUD/OUD, and other community members who reside in the rural service areas.

Current SCROR Project Consortium Members:

• AIDS Outreach Project/Snohomish County Syringe Exchange Program
• City of Sultan
• Community Health Centers of Snohomish County
• Darrington Prevention and Intervention Community Coalition
• Darrington School District
• EvergreenHealth Monroe
• Ideal Option
• Monroe Community Coalition
• Providence Medical Group
• Sea Mar Community Health Center – Monroe Behavioral Health Clinic
• Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management
• Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office
• Snohomish Health District
• Sno-Isle Libraries
• Sultan School District
• Town of Darrington