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Town updates behavioral-health work: QPR, Narcan, youth homelessness and a new resource search tool
Summary
Town staff and the nonprofit Community Solutions for Behavioral Health reported progress on Narcan distribution and training, QPR (Question-Persuade-Refer) trainer development, a youth host-family program, transportation assistance for appointments, and a searchable resource directory (acccares.net).
NANTUCKET ' The town's behavioral-health coordination group and health and human services staff reported several ongoing initiatives aimed at prevention, crisis response and service navigation.
Jericho (last name not provided), speaking for the town and for Community Solutions for Behavioral Health (a local 501(c)(3) coordinating network), said the group has prioritized four workstreams: youth homelessness response and host-family arrangements; transportation assistance for health and behavioral-health appointments; expanded QPR (Question-Persuade-Refer) training and Narcan distribution; and a public resource directory with searchable access.
Key points from the presentation included:
- Youth homelessness: The town partnered with county and state programs to place youth in short-term host-family arrangements and to add diversion services through Our House.
- QPR and Narcan: The town has trained a cadre of QPR trainers to provide community and employer training; Narcan training and distribution continues and the town reported a year with no overdose deaths on the island in the most recent full year the police department recorded.
- Transportation: The town is developing coordinated transportation support for residents needing medical and behavioral-health care off-island.
- Resource directory: The town highlighted acccares.net, a network-of-care directory with a natural-language search feature to help residents find services without relying on specialized terminology. The site will be expanded and integrated with outreach.
Jericho said the town plans more public events, additional trainings, collaboration with schools and employers, and further work with the Affordable Housing Trust and community partners to explore small-scale attainable housing tied to workforce needs.
Ending: Board members thanked staff and asked for updates at the next meeting. The initiatives are continuing and staff said they will post training schedules and resource links on the town's web pages.
