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Recovery coach urges expanded outreach and public Narcan access; committee discusses NaroxBoxes and school education
Summary
Kelly Connolly, a recovery coach contracted through Advocate Health, described outreach work, gaps in housing and referrals and urged broader access to naloxone; the committee discussed installing NaloxBoxes in Dennis municipal buildings but heard resistance from police and fire over liability and stigma.
Kelly Connolly, a recovery coach who contracts with Harwich and Chatham through Advocate Health, told a Dennis committee meeting that outreach and warm handoffs have reduced repeat emergency calls and helped connect people to detox and treatment.
"Everybody should actually carry naloxone," Kelly said while explaining outreach, home visits and a care-team model that brings police, fire, town nurses and housing coordinators together to support individuals. She said the top resource need is housing and that her teams use modest client expense funds (examples disclosed: Harwich $7,500; Chatham $5,000) to pay for hotel stays, transportation and other immediate needs.
The Chair reported that Eliza Morrison had presented to John Theriault about installing NaloxBoxes (locked public naloxone cabinets) and that there are about 40 boxes on the Cape in town buildings and at beaches. The Chair said Dennis currently has none: "Dennis has 0," and urged placing lockboxes in municipal buildings. Committee members described common objections from first responders and selectmen: concerns that publicly available naloxone might be seen as condoning use, liability fears, and operational questions about who would refill and train on the devices. The transcript records that the AIDS Support Group at Cape Cod currently refills some public boxes.
Members also discussed coordination problems, including HIPAA-related limits on information sharing and the need for a shared database among stakeholders so police, fire and outreach workers can track recurring clients and avoid duplicated outreach. The committee noted regional coordination mechanisms such as RSAC and the Community Crisis Intervention Team (CCIT) and said re-establishing those tables would help align funding and services across Cape towns.
Speakers raised outreach to schools and lawmakers: one member said Eliza Morrison is providing naloxone education to Falmouth High School students, and another member reported plans to testify on proposed state bills to add opiate and naloxone topics to health education curricula.
Next steps: committee members said they will continue outreach to municipal leaders about NaloxBoxes, explore contracting with Outer Cape Health to bring a recovery coach into Dennis, and coordinate presentations for schools and recovery courts.
