North Carolina
Serves Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Mitchell, Surry, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin and Yancey Counties
The Lazarus Recovery Services: Justice-Involved Initiative, as a program of Project Lazarus, provides prevention and recovery support services to justice-involved individuals with substance or opioid use problems. Working with a team of health providers, public safety and judicial stakeholders, the program offers and links to various resources to people who struggle with substance use. It connects individuals with peer support specialists to create a recovery plan and helps support them through their recovery journey. For those currently in jail, the program provides educational materials about addiction and recovery. It also gives naloxone, an FDA-approved medication designed to rapidly reverse opioid overdose, to people on their release from jail. Additionally, through their Lazarus FIRST (Families in Recovery Support Together) program, children of those with substance use and justice involved individuals have advocacy and support, whether or not involved with DSS CPS.
Rural community responses for positive outcomes for public health related issues (substance use disorder included) require strong collaboration with linkages to care in a continuum that removes gaps that so many in rural areas find themselves in and unable to navigate out. Our success is based on community collective efforts as no one organization or agency can do it alone.