(From Olympic Peninsula Community Clinic Project REdisCOVERY)

PORT ANGELES – In 2020, Clallam County, along with the rest of the United States, saw the largest increase in overdose deaths since 2016. From 2019 to 2020 (the last full year for which statistics are available), there was a 135% increase in fatal overdoses in Clallam County. According to CDC data, the 2019 national average for fatal drug overdoses was 21.6 per 100,000. Clallam County’s current fatal overdose rate is 28.3 per 100,000.
In March of 2022, the Clallam County jail, in partnership with Olympic Peninsula Community Clinic’s (OPCC) REdisCOVERY program was awarded a grant from Washington State Healthcare Authority (HCA) to implement a new, expanded Medications for Opiate Use Disorder – also known as MOUD – program. This program, called HOPE (Help, Opportunity, Prevention and Education), provides medication and reentry services to incarcerated individuals with opioid use disorder.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s department was the first Washington state jail to initiate the Prison Rape Elimination Act and, in February of 2016, implemented the first (MOUD) program in Washington State.
The HOPE Program will provide incarcerated individuals the opportunity for a substance use disorder assessment, evidence-based medication and treatment for opiate use disorder, connection to continue treatment upon release, and reentry services.
Extensive research has shown that MOUD works best when paired with other evidence-based practices such as substance abuse disorder counseling and intensive case management. The HOPE Program provides an intensive case manager and Substance Use Disorder Professional (SUDP) who are dedicated to providing services in the jail and assisting with post-release transition and re-entry programs. OPCC Executive Director T. Scott Brandon says, “The HOPE program directly supports the clinic’s mission to deliver easier access to services that will provide better health outcomes.”
The main goals of the program are to lower overdose deaths, reduce arrests, decrease overuse or misuse of emergency services, and in doing so, create a safer, more vibrant community.