PLYMOUTH COUNTY — The Plymouth County Outreach Advisory Board is pleased to announce that Plymouth County Outreach (PCO) has been awarded a Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP) grant that will support PCO’s operations through September 2026.

The grant, awarded by the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), totals $1.6 million and will allow PCO to continue its current operations and implement multiple new initiatives.

With the funding, PCO will start a Plymouth County Overdose Fatality Review, which will help to effectively identify trends, system gaps, and innovative community-specific overdose prevention and intervention strategies. Overdose Fatality Reviews involve data analysis and a series of confidential individual death reviews by a multidisciplinary team.

Additionally, PCO will have a recovery coach available to work with youth who are using substances and will be starting a weekly support meeting for these youth. PCO is also pleased to be expanding its partnership with the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office to place a recovery coach into the District Courts.

PCO will also hire two new full-time staff members.

• Recovery Coach: This individual will interact with members of the community with the purpose of breaking down barriers to services and making resources more accessible to people who use drugs and their families as outlined in the Plymouth County Outreach model. In addition, this individual will be responsible for conducting follow-ups alongside PCO Outreach Officers and conducting long-term follow-ups with various high-risk individuals, including within the district courts. The Recovery Coach will use their lived experiences along with their knowledge of available Plymouth County Services and resources to guide individuals looking to make any positive change and improve their quality of life. See the full job description and qualifications here.
• Project Coordinator: This individual will be responsible for assisting in the implementation of and coordinating PCO’s multi-disciplinary Overdose Fatality Review (OFR) meetings including working with local stakeholders, gathering relevant information and preparing reports. This individual will also be responsible for assisting with PCO’s youth support initiative. The Project Coordinator will act as a liaison with the local schools to develop substance use education, develop and implement support groups for youth who are using substances, and act as a youth support specialist for youth who are using substances and their loved ones. See the full job description and qualifications here.

“We are grateful to the Bureau of Justice Assistance for this grant that will continue to fund our program and these new initiatives, all of which will support our work to reduce overdose fatalities and help us continue to make resources more accessible to individuals who use substances in Plymouth County,” Executive Director Butler said.

About COSSUP:
COSSUP’s purpose is to provide financial and technical assistance to states, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments to develop, implement, or expand comprehensive efforts to identify, respond to, treat, and support those impacted by illicit opioids, stimulants and other drugs.

The cornerstone of COSSUP is its emphasis on partnership and collaboration across the public health, behavioral health, and public safety sectors. Effective community responses leverage the combined expertise of each of these disciplines and rely upon unified and coordinated strategies.

About Plymouth County Outreach:
Plymouth County Outreach is a multi-faceted collaboration of the 27 municipal police departments in Plymouth County, as well as the Bridgewater State University Police Department, working together with recovery coaches, community organizations and coalitions to make treatment, resources, and harm reduction tools more accessible to people who use drugs and their loved ones. Our goal is to provide compassionate, judgment-free support while reducing overdose fatalities.

Plymouth County Outreach is a collaborative of police departments throughout Plymouth County led by the following chiefs: Abington Chief David Del Papa, Bridgewater Chief Christopher Delmonte, Bridgewater State University Chief David Tillinghast, Brockton Chief Brenda Perez, Carver Chief Marc Duphily, Duxbury Chief Michael Carbone, East Bridgewater Chief Michael Jenkins, Halifax Chief Joao Chaves, Hanover Chief Timothy Kane, Hanson Chief Michael Miksch, Hingham Chief David Jones, Hull Chief John Dunn, Kingston Chief Maurice Splaine, Lakeville Chief Matthew Perkins, Marion Chief Richard Nighelli, Marshfield Chief Phillip Tavares, Mattapoisett Chief Jason King, Middleborough Chief Joseph Perkins, Norwell Chief Edward Lee, Pembroke Chief Richard MacDonald, Plymouth Chief Dana Flynn, Plympton Chief Matthew Ahl, Rochester Chief Robert Small, Rockland Chief Nicholas Zeoli, Scituate Chief Mark Thompson, Wareham Chief Walter Correia, West Bridgewater Chief Victor Flaherty and Whitman Chief Timothy Hanlon.

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