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Plymouth County Outreach Awarded $1.6 Million Federal Grant to Support Current Operations, New Initiatives

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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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Plymouth County Outreach Joining First-Ever National ‘Day of Deflection’ Multistate Effort

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PLYMOUTH COUNTY — Plymouth County Outreach and the police chiefs of Plymouth County are pleased to announce their participation in the first National “Day of Deflection” on Wednesday, July 19.

The National Day of Deflection is a multistate effort to highlight the impact of deflection work in communities nationwide and the importance of local and multistate partnerships. The Day of Deflection is taking place during the first-ever PTACC (Police Treatment and Community Collaborative) “National Deflection Week,” July 16-23.

On July 19, deflection teams and sites in communities across the country will join together to conduct planned deflection efforts. Plymouth County Outreach will be hosting multiple resource tables throughout the county to provide community members with resources, support and harm reduction tools free of cost, and with no questions asked. Anyone is welcome to attend to visit with one of PCO’s Recovery Coaches over a cup of coffee at the following locations this Wednesday, July 19:

  1. Plymouth Public Library (Craft Room), 132 South St., Plymouth, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  2. East Bridgewater Town Hall (first floor conference room, to the left after entering through the front door), 175 Central St., East Bridgewater, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  3. Universal Missionary Church, 30 N Main St., Brockton, from 10 a.m. to noon
  4. Hanover Police Department (training room, to the left after entering through the front door), 129 Rockland St., Hanover, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Anyone who is unable to visit one of the above locations on July 19 can call or text 774-434-5072 to be connected to a recovery coach, schedule a more convenient time to meet, or have resources or harm reduction tools to dropped off to you, no questions asked.

Deflection teams and sites in communities from 11 states – Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin – are expected to participate in the National “Day of Deflection.” Each team or site participating in this “Day of Deflection” can plan whatever deflection-related event or activity they wish.

Deflection is when first responders, social workers, and recovery support professionals connect individuals experiencing mental health or substance use challenges to community-based treatment and/or services as an alternative to arrest or taking no action.

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 Acting 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, Middleboro 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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Plymouth County Outreach Issues Alert, Offers Resources Following Spike in Drug Overdoses This Month

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PLYMOUTH — Plymouth County Outreach and the police chiefs of Plymouth County are issuing an alert today following a spike in drug overdoses throughout the county during the first 19 days of December.

From Dec. 1 to 19, Plymouth County Outreach (PCO) has documented 13 fatal overdoses throughout the county, which is more fatal overdoses than any other month this year.

PCO and its partners want the public, especially individuals at risk for overdose and their families and friends, to be aware of the increased risk of an overdose and what action they can take. The holidays are a difficult time for many, and PCO wants community members to know that they are not alone.

Anyone using any substance purchased off the street is at risk of an overdose. It is suspected that Fentanyl is being mixed with other non-opioid substances such as cocaine and street pills marked as Xanax. There has also been growing concern of the presence of an animal tranquilizer, xylazine, being found in the illicit drug supply. Although it’s being used as an additive to opioids, xylazine is not an opioid and will not respond to Narcan.

Recognizing the signs of an overdose:

  • Breathing is very slow and shallow, erratic, or has stopped
  • Face very pale
  • Cool, clammy skin
  • Choking sounds or a gurgling noise (death rattle)
  • Pulse (heartbeat) is slow erratic or has stopped
  • Blue/gray skin tinge – usually lips and fingers show first, sometimes in tips of ears
  • Loss of consciousness-passing out
  • Body becomes very limp

Life-saving measures to reverse an overdose:

Naloxone, known as Narcan, is a medication used to reverse an opioid overdose. Narcan saved lives 94% of the time when administered in Plymouth County last year.

Narcan is readily available throughout the county free of cost, no questions asked, including at these locations:

  • By calling Plymouth County Outreach, 774-434-5072, or reaching out through the website’s connect page: plymouthcountyoutreach.org/connect
  • Bamsi Brockton Cope Center, 74 Pleasant St., Brockton; 508-583-3405
  • Bamsi Plymouth Cope Center, 385 Court St., Plymouth, basement suite; 508-942-0679
  • PCO Hope, 385 Court St., Plymouth; 774-283-4763
  • Manet Community Health Center, 180 George Washington Boulevard, Hull; 781-925-4550
  • Local pharmacies have an open/standing prescription for everyone. This means you can go to your pharmacy to ask for Narcan. The cost will be whatever your insurance co-pay is.

Treatment, support and hope:

Resources are available throughout the county and region. Learn more at plymouthcountyoutreach.org/partners. Additionally, you can contact:

  • Massachusetts Substance Use Helpline at 800-327-5050 or helplinema.org
  • If you or a loved one is at-risk of an overdose and looking to access treatment, please reach out to your local Plymouth County Police Department and ask to speak with a Plymouth County Outreach Officer, contact PCO through its website at plymouthcountyoutreach.org/connect, or call 774-434-5072.

9-1-1. Make the Call. Save a Life:

Massachusetts passed the Good Samaritan Law in 2007, which encourages someone who witnesses an overdose to seek help by protecting the caller and the person who overdosed from arrest and prosecution for drug possession. The goal of the law is to protect people so they are not afraid to involve emergency services as soon as possible.

Good Samaritan Law PSAs created by local recovery coaches are available to watch under ‘public service announcements’ here: Video Gallery – Plymouth County Outreach.

The Plymouth County Police Chiefs, District Attorney and Sheriff have also created a PCO Good Samaritan Law PSA. Click here to view the video: Plymouth County Chiefs Discuss Massachusetts Good Samaritan Law.

Harm reduction saves lives:

While PCO and its police chiefs strongly encourage people to seek treatment, addiction is a disease and it is important to know ways to reduce the chance of death:

  • Don’t use alone. If you must use alone call the Never Use Alone hotline, available 24/7 at 1-800-972-0590
  • Use with someone else present and don’t use at the same time. This way, if one of you overdoses, the other can call 911 and administer Narcan
  • Test your substances with fentanyl test strips
  • Have access to Narcan
  • Make sure your social networks have Narcan
  • Mixing substances can put you at increased risk of overdose
  • Test a small amount first
  • Use new supplies every time
  • Know that using via inhalation or smoking doesn’t protect you from overdose
  • Know that periods of abstinence followed by use are quite dangerous in relation to fatal overdoses. Common examples are hospitalizations, incarceration, or periods of abstinence-based treatment.
  • Heroin use equals fentanyl use in Massachusetts
  • Canary cellphone app: Canary is an overdose prevention app that monitors for a user’s inactivity after activation. In the event a user stops moving and fails to respond to prompts by Canary, the app issues an alert to others.

For more information on harm reduction strategies, visit Harm Reduction – Plymouth County Outreach.

About Plymouth County Outreach:

Plymouth County Outreach is a multi-faceted collaboration of the 27 municipal police departments in Plymouth County, as well as Bridgewater State University Police Department, the District Attorney’s Office & Sheriff’s Department working together with Recovery Coaches and community organizations and coalitions to make treatment, resources, and harm reduction tools more accessible to those living with substance misuse disorder and their loved ones. Our goal is to provide compassionate, judgment-free support while reducing overdose fatalities.

PCO’s Executive Director, Vicky Butler, continues to keep the public updated through the PCO’s social media accounts: Facebook @plymouthcountyoutreach, Twitter @countyoutreach, Instagram @plymouthcountyoutreach, and on its website plymouthcountyoutreach.org.

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 Stephen McDonald, East Bridgewater Chief Paul O’Brien, 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, Middleboro 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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Plymouth County Outreach to Hold First-Ever Recovery Fest Community Event in Celebration of National Recovery Month

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PLYMOUTH — Plymouth County Outreach is pleased to share details on an upcoming community event to celebrate National Recovery Month.

“We are excited to co-cost our first-ever Recovery Fest with our PCO HOPE and Plymouth Recovery Center partners and to offer family-friendly activities and entertainment,” Plymouth County Outreach Program Director Vicky Butler said. “We look forward to celebrating National Recovery Month and all those who are on the road to recovery from substance use disorder.” 

WHEN:

Friday, Sept. 30 from 5-8 p.m.

WHERE:

Pilgrim Memorial State Park, Plymouth

WHAT:

To celebrate September as National Recovery Month, PCO is co-hosting its first-ever Recovery Fest with partners PCO HOPE and the Plymouth Recovery Center.

The event will include live music by Selfish Steam, food trucks, the Riot Recovery Mocktail stand, games and activities for kids, resources and more.

The event is family friendly and open to all. 

Selfish Steam is an all-original band of friends in recovery reaching out to recovery communities throughout the world. Through their inspirational songwriting, Selfish Steam is driven to make sure every person in recovery feels heard and understood – championing “Recovery Rocks.” Penning their inspirational stories about overcoming trials and tribulations, dealing with addiction and their journey through recovery, Selfish Steam aims to reach out to as many people as they can. 

Considering music to be an effective universal communication tool, the dynamic collective hopes to spread awareness among the younger generation, regarding issues such as underage drinking. The group channels their own learning from experiences of alcohol and drug abuse, using their musical talents to advocate for the right thing. Selfish Steam hopes to enlighten the younger generations of many wrong decisions they themselves made in their lives which led to internment, institutions and near death.

National Recovery Month, which started in 1989, is a national observance held every September to promote and support new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, the nation’s strong and proud recovery community, and the dedication of service providers and communities who make recovery in all its forms possible.

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The band ‘Selfish Steam,’ which will be performing at Recovery Fest this month. (Courtesy Photo)

Plymouth County Outreach Advisory Board Releases Statement on 2021 Annual Report

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*To view the 2021 Plymouth County Outreach Annual Report, click here.*

PLYMOUTH — The following is a statement from the Plymouth County Outreach Advisory Board:

The Plymouth County Outreach Advisory Board is pleased to announce an 18% decrease in fatal overdoses in 2021. This reduction is thanks to the tireless efforts of our Recovery Coaches, Outreach Officers, Plymouth County Drug Abuse Task Force, and dedicated partners who never gave up despite the obstacles brought on by the pandemic. We are fortunate in Plymouth County to have such a strong network of community organizations, hospitals, and law enforcement and we would not be where we are today without their dedication and commitment. While we appreciate this accomplishment, we also acknowledge that every fatal overdose is one too many and we still have a great deal of work to do in the years to come.

In 2021, Plymouth County Outreach (PCO) had proposed to create and distribute harm reduction kits, start conducting hot spot outreach in our five “hardest hit communities” and start working with the Sheriff’s Department to provide resources to individuals being released from incarceration, in addition to the work we were already doing. Although the COVID-19 pandemic continued to be a barrier in 2021, we were able to make progress in all of these areas.

Our outreach teams started distributing harm reduction kits in May of 2021 and were able to distribute close to 200 kits in eight months. In addition, Plymouth County Outreach team members distributed 465 boxes of Naloxone throughout the county during follow up visits, hot spot outreach and community events. Hot spot outreach efforts began in three of our five hardest hit communities with plans to expands to another three communities in 2022. Efforts included outreach to our unhoused community members, building partnerships with local businesses, community Naloxone trainings and access to resources, treatment and care.

Plymouth County Outreach hired a full-time Recovery Coach to work with the Sheriff’s Department in September 2021 with plans to start entering the jail in April 2022. In addition to meeting with individuals before they’re released, this Recovery Coach will be able to conduct regular follow up post incarceration and address social determinants of health.

Plymouth County Outreach will also continue working to provide resources and support to individuals living with substance use disorder and their loved ones with an overall goal of reducing overdose deaths throughout the county.

Plymouth County Outreach is an outcome-driven organization; data is the “fuel” that drives these positive outcomes. Using the strong database that it has worked on with its research partner, Kelley Research Associates, PCO leverages its Advisory Board and stakeholders to continually assess what works, what efforts can be further optimized, and where their finite resources can make the biggest impact within the complex rubric of substance use, mental health, and socioeconomic variables. The data will continue to evolve as the battle lines of this war dynamically shift.

In 2021 Plymouth County Outreach was able to increase successful contact rates back up to 61% (762) from 58% (595) in 2020. Of the visits where Plymouth County Outreach was able to make contact with the individual who overdosed, the individual accepted assistance from the outreach team 74% of the time. Harm reduction practices continues to be a critical tool in decreasing the negative impacts of substance use and building trust in the community while preventing fatal overdoses.

Plymouth County Outreach has continued to see pressed pills and other substances being laced with fentanyl, often unknown to the consumers. Of the 130 fatal overdoses in 2021, 64% (83) of those involved individuals had no prior records in our Critical Incident Management System. These are individuals whom with we never had the opportunity to engage prior to their fatal incidents. Similar corroborating but lagging data is published by the federal Center for Disease Control (CDC), a summary of which is the following:

  • The Center for Disease Control National Center for Health Statistics indicated there was an estimated 28.5% increase in overdose deaths nationally from April 2020 to April 2021 compared to the year before.
  • The new data also indicated that overdose deaths from synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl) and psychostimulants such as methamphetamine also increased in the past year. Deaths involving cocaine use also increased.
  • According to CDC data, Massachusetts experienced an estimated 1.3% increase in fatal overdoses from January 2021 to September 2021 compared to the year before. Where Plymouth County saw a 7.2% decrease in fatal overdoses from January 2021 to September 2021 compared to the year before.

In 2021, Plymouth County Outreach saw a 110% increase in at risk referrals throughout the county (e.g. from 199 in 2020 to 419 in 2021). This is a positive increase, as it shows individuals are proactively seeking assistance before an overdose occurs. Plymouth County Outreach has seen steady increases in at-risk-referrals each year with an overall increase of 424% (e.g. 80 in 2017 to 419 in 2021) since 2017. Plymouth County Outreach is also seeing an increase in at-risk referrals for individuals with alcohol use disorder.

Plymouth County Outreach was designed to adapt quickly and excel in keeping our focus on the needs of individuals living with substance use disorder and their loved ones. Using our takeaways from last year, we will move forward in 2022 with action items specific to the challenges faced in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, PCO will:

  • Continue conducting hot spot outreach in Brockton, Plymouth, and Wareham and begin conducting hot spot outreach in Middleborough, Marshfield and Rockland.
  • Have a Recovery Coach regularly available to inmates being released from the Plymouth County House of Corrections with a history of substance use and partner with the Sheriff’s Department to continue providing them resources after their release.
  • Increase access to naloxone, fentanyl test strips, and other harm reduction tools throughout Plymouth County as well as access to resources for our unhoused population.
  • Increase education and awareness on pressed pills laced and other substances being laced with fentanyl as well as the importance of testing substances

In summary, Plymouth County Outreach remains committed to the collaborative work of saving lives impacted by substance use disorders. We thank our staff, Outreach Officers, and dedicated partners for their continued support and look forward to the meaningful work ahead.

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Vision

United in a spirit of teamwork, the Hull Police Department will be an open, friendly, and community-minded organization devoted to quality public service, unyielding in purpose and dedicated to live by values reflecting a genuine desire to care for the safety and well-being of the public.

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Hull Police Department
1 School Street
Hull, MA 02045

Non-emergency phone number: (781) 925-1212
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Hull Police Department

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Department located at 1 School Street Hull, Massachusetts 02045.

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