This brief is part of a series highlighting partnership projects that are part of the Rural Responses to the Opioid Epidemic project; it discusses the Mohave Substance Treatment and Education Prevention Partnership, in Arizona.
This Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) document on harm reduction describes the Rural Responses to the Opioid Epidemic (RROE) project. The RROE project aims to serve residents with substance use disorder (SUD); it supports 21 rural sites across the United States in order to develop or enhance efforts to do the following tasks: strengthen epidemiologic surveillance and public health data infrastructure; implement effective community-level opioid overdose prevention activities; and establish or enhance public safety, public health, and behavioral health collaborations. The document notes that sites may also expand peer recovery and recovery support services that help people start and continue with recovery. Another project focus is to make more efficient use of limited resources. The partnership featured in this brief is the Mohave Substance Treatment and Education Prevention Partnership (MSTEPP), in Mohave County, Arizona. Lessons learned are discussed, and include: relationships with business are vital; education in the community is important for achieving buy-in and support; and being embedded in different areas and focuses within the community helps to build rapport with community members and leaders, and can result in their being more receptive to other projects similar to Harm Reduction.