This podcast, hosted by the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP), discusses Peer Recovery Support Services (PRSS) and the COVID-19 pandemic.
This podcast focuses on Peer Recovery Support Services (PRSS) and highlights the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from three different peer programs as they navigate integrating peer specialists into various roles and touchpoints across the sequential intercept, particularly throughout an unprecedented global pandemic. PRSS are an important part of efforts to effectively address the opioid and other substance use epidemic. In recent years, the use of PRSS within criminal justice settings has been recognized as a vital part of the continuum of care for efforts to address alcohol and drug use among this population. While this is an emerging practice, initial programs demonstrate the potential for recovery-oriented and peer-led services to provide support to justice-involved individuals who are struggling with an opioid or other substance use disorder. The program is hosted by Mariah Black-Watson, Analyst, Altarum; moderated by Katie Basu, Former Substance Use Disorder Specialist, Altarum; and features AnaBell Cadena, Program Specialist, City of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Andrea Ramalho, Senior Program Manager for Alternative Public Safety Strategies, Paterson Police Department, Paterson, New Jersey; Coralee Schmitz, Chief Operations Officer, Rimrock Foundation, Billings, Montana; and Annette Redding, Director of Peer Support, Rimrock Foundation.