Program Description the Rural Illinois Opioid Overdose Prevention Initiative – Naloxone Distribution program is part of the “Empowering and Equipping Law Enforcement Communities in Rural Illinois to Reduce Opioid Overdose” initiative. The purpose of this grant is to address opioid-related morbidity and mortality in Illinois. This grant has two goals. Goal one is to provide intensive support to 24 high-need rural Illinois counties that suffer from high burden and are particularly under-resourced by equipping municipal police, sheriff departments, and fire departments in the Target Area with naloxone and provide training for law enforcement officers and firefighters on naloxone administration, overdose prevention, and treatment referral. The Target Area counties include Adams, Christian, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Jaspar, Jefferson, Lawrence, Marion, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Saline, Wabash, Washington, and Wayne Goal two is to pilot Leave-Behind Naloxone Distribution with at least two public safety agencies. Leave-Behind Naloxone Distribution involves public safety officers supplying naloxone kits to individuals present after responding to an emergency call for an overdose. The Leave-Behind approach aligns with the best practices in SUPR’s Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution (OEND) program identified in the 2019 Illinois Overdose Prevention and Harm Reduction Act4 by directly distributing opioid antagonists to individuals who use drugs, their families, and communities. Law enforcement officers will provide a naloxone kit (including two doses of naloxone), instructions on how to use it, and information about the Illinois Helpline for Opioids and Other Substances so that individuals know how to acquire additional naloxone or treatment and recovery services in the future.
