S.A.F.E. Station: A Successful Program Connecting Individuals in Crises to Assistance
The Stop Addiction for Everyone (S.A.F.E.) Station program is a collaborative effort among the Whitehall Division of Fire, the Whitehall Division of Police, the Heart of Ohio Family Health Center, and the Maryhaven Addiction Stabilization Center. The program provides a safe and discreet way to access treatment by facilitating treatment linkages and transport to individuals with substance use disorders. Individuals may arrive at the fire station at any time—24 hours a day, 7 days a week—and ask for help with their addiction issues. There has been an overwhelming response to the S.A.F.E. Station program.
The Rapid Response Emergency Addiction and Crisis Team (RREACT) meets individuals on-scene and assists them wherever they are in their recovery journeys, providing immediate linkages to resources and treatment after emergency medical services personnel respond to an overdose. This effort is in partnership with the S.A.F.E. Station program.
"The hundreds of people who have come to this (program) are no longer hundreds of people overdosing on our streets."
—Deputy Chief Daniel Kelso, Whitehall Division of Police
Sequential intercept mapping is a cross-system exercise to identify potential opportunities to divert people
with mental illness and substance use disorders from the criminal justice system to treatment at five intercept points,
from pre-arrest through reentry. It brings together community stakeholders to examine resources, needs, current
efforts, and gaps. The process promotes stakeholder collaboration to identify solutions to address gaps and issues
across all intercept points.
The Stop Addiction for Everyone (S.A.F.E.) Station program is a collaborative effort among the Whitehall Division
of Fire, the Whitehall Division of Police, the Heart of Ohio Family Health Center, and the Maryhaven Addiction
Stabilization Center. The program provides a safe and discreet way to access treatment by facilitating treatment
linkages and transport to individuals with substance use disorders.
The Maryhaven Addiction Stabilization Center (MASC) is a S.A.F.E. Station partner and was established
as a direct outcome of the Franklin County Opiate Crisis Community Action Plan. MASC offers immediate
care to stabilize people who overdose or seek treatment and opened as a first-of-its-kind effort to relieve the strain on
hospital emergency departments, providing those with opioid use disorders quick access to treatment
and recovery options, including subsequent long-term services.
Pathways is a women’s program at the Franklin County Correctional Center II in Ohio.
Pathways includes pre- and post-release programming. The pre-release program begins with an 8-week
intensive curriculum blending cognitive behavioral therapy, recovery management, and a variety of prosocial
activities.
The Franklin County Municipal Court Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Program was established in July 2018 and is a voluntary program for
individuals on probation (or those who will be on probation). MAT is used as an integral part of the Franklin County Municipal Court’s process,
and a clinic is located inside the courthouse. Since the time of filming this virtual tour, the MAT program has expanded and is now known as the
MAT Assessment, Research, Care, and Hope (MARCH) program.
The Heroin Overdose Prevention and Education (HOPE) Task Force uses enforcement, education, and prevention to
combat the heroin epidemic. Detectives treat opiate overdose scenes as crime scenes and investigate the source of
the supply of drugs that caused an overdose. The HOPE Task Force collaborates with community providers and organizations
to refer those with substance use disorders to treatment.