Category: dui

Two-Part Mental Health First Aid Training Workshop

Event date: Monday, Aug 12, 2019 –
9:30 am to 3:00 pm

Location: NewHolly
Address: New Holly Gathering Hall
7054 32nd Ave S
Seattle, WA

Attendees welcome:
All tenants – SHA housing residents and Housing Choice Voucher holders
Attendee Age: Adult – Age 18 and older

Description:
Trainers from Valley Cities Mental Health will teach attendees to identify and understand common signs of mental illness and substance abuse. They will also coach how to interact with a person in crisis and how to connect them with trained professionals who can help them through this difficult time.

The two-part workshop will take place on Monday, August 12th and Wednesday, August 14th from 9:30am to 3:00pm. You must attend both days.

Training is free for SHA residents and lunch is provided both days.

Contact Ellen Ziontz at (206) 239-1625, eziontz@seattlehousing.org or Dean McBee at (206) 491-7830, deanmcbee1@gmail.com to reserve your spot.

Supporting programs: Valley Cities Mental Health

BEWARE: Fentanyl overdose deaths up 70 percent in Wash., health officials say

Photo from Public Health Seattle & King County shows pills containing fentanyl that were sold on the streets of Seattle.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – The number of people who died from an overdose of illicit fentanyl increased nearly 70 percent this year over last in Washington state, health officials said Wednesday.

NARCAN SPRAY

Seattle Police Department: Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD)

Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) is a pre-booking diversion pilot program developed with the community to address low-level drug and prostitution crimes in the Belltown neighborhood in Seattle and the Skyway area of unincorporated King County. The program allows law enforcement officers to redirect low-level offenders engaged in drug or prostitution activity to community-based services, instead of jail and prosecution. By diverting eligible individuals to services, LEAD is committed to improving public safety and public order, and reducing the criminal behavior of people who participate in the program.

About LEAD
Frequently Asked Questions
LEAD Policy Coordinating Group

Funders
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) is a new innovative pilot program that was developed with the community to address low-level drug and prostitution crimes in the Belltown neighborhood in Seattle and the Skyway area of unincorporated King County. LEAD will divert low-level drug and prostitution offenders into community-based treatment and support services – including housing, healthcare, job training, treatment and mental health support — instead of processing them through traditional criminal justice system avenues.

A unique coalition of law enforcement agencies, public officials, and community groups collaborated to create this pilot program. These groups make up LEAD’s Policy Coordinating Group, which governs the program.

LEAD’s goal is to improve public safety and public order, and to reduce the criminal behavior of people who participate in the program. The program will be thoroughly evaluated to determine whether it has been successful or not.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are frequently asked questions about LEAD. If you have further questions about the program, please contact us.

What is LEAD?

LEAD is a pre-booking diversion program that allows officers to redirect low-level offenders engaged in drugs or prostitution activity to community-based services instead of jail and prosecution. LEAD participants begin working immediately with case managers to access services. LEAD’s goals are to reduce the harm a drug offender causes him or herself, as well as the harm that the individual is causing the surrounding community. This public safety program has the potential to reduce recidivism rates for low-level offenders and preserve expensive criminal justice system resources for more serious or violent offenders.

How does LEAD differ from other drug programs?

First, LEAD is the result of a commitment from law enforcement agencies, public officials, and community organizations to work together in implementing a new approach to addressing drug and prostitution activity. Second, the diversion in LEAD is made at the pre-booking stage, in the hopes of bypassing the costs and time entailed in booking, charging, and requiring court appearances of an individual. Finally, LEAD provides participants with immediate case management services, and access to additional resources not available through existing public programs.

Who is eligible for diversion into LEAD?

Individuals who are arrested for eligible offenses within specified boundaries for Belltown or Skyway may be diverted into LEAD. Eligible offenses include low-level drug offenses, and engaging in prostitution. Individuals who have certain violent offenses in their criminal history are ineligible for diversion.

Who designed LEAD?

LEAD is the result of an unusual collaboration among diverse stakeholders. Collaborators include the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the Seattle City Attorney’s Office, the Seattle Police Department, the King County Sheriff’s Office, the King County Executive, the Mayor’s Office, The Washington State Department of Corrections, The Defender Association, the ACLU of Washington, and community members. The collaboration of these stakeholders was motivated by a shared dissatisfaction with the outcomes and costs of traditional drug law enforcement.

Who runs LEAD?

As noted, LEAD is the result of a collaboration among a number of stakeholders. All stakeholders are represented on LEAD’s Policy Coordinating Group, and the group makes decisions by consensus via a memorandum of understanding. LEAD is entirely voluntary, and any stakeholder may choose to withdraw from LEAD at any time.

Who will provide services to LEAD participants?

LEAD stakeholders have contracted with Evergreen Treatment Services (ETS) to provide services to LEAD participants. ETS has provided addiction treatment services in Washington for over 30 years, and has been actively involved in federally-funded research projects. ETS’ REACH Program has been a key provider in the delivery of street outreach services to chronically homeless and chemically addicted adults in Seattle for 15 years. ETS will follow harm reduction principles and will attempt to provide immediate access to services.

How will we know if LEAD works?

All LEAD stakeholders are committed to evaluating the program rigorously. The evaluation will consider, among other factors, whether LEAD has resulted in reductions in drug use and recidivism, whether LEAD is more cost-effective than traditional criminal justice processing, and whether LEAD has had a positive impact on a community’s quality of life.

How much will LEAD cost the City of Seattle and King County?

Nothing. LEAD stakeholders obtained funding from private foundations to implement the program. Its funders include the Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Vital Projects Fund, RiverStyx Foundation, Massena Foundation, and the Social Justice Fund Northwest.

Do community members support LEAD?

Community members strongly support LEAD. LEAD will be piloted first in Belltown, and then in Skyway (in partnership with the King County Sheriff’s Office). Members of both communities have participated in the program’s design, and will continue to provide feedback about the program. For example, the LEAD Community Advisory Board in Belltown includes representatives from the Belltown Community Council, Belltown Business Association, Downtown Seattle Association/Metropolitan Improvement District, Recovery Café, YWCA, Plymouth Housing Group, and Millionair Club Charity. The LEAD Community Advisory Board in Skyway includes representatives from Skyway United Methodist Church, Westhill Community Council, and Skyway Solutions.

For how long will LEAD be implemented?

LEAD formally began on October 1, 2011. The program is anticipated to run for two years before an evaluation is begun, and to continue with foundation funding for an additional two years while the evaluation is conducted and analyzed. If LEAD is found to be effective, an ongoing source of funding will be sought.

Have programs like LEAD been implemented elsewhere?

LEAD was inspired by “arrest-referral” programs in the United Kingdom. Those programs have recently been implemented in virtually every police department in the United Kingdom because pilot projects proved to be so effective.

Policy Coordinating Group
LEAD is governed by a Policy Coordinating Group. The group makes decisions by consensus via a memorandum of understanding. LEAD is entirely voluntary, and any stakeholder may choose to withdraw from LEAD at any time. The members include:

Seattle Office of the Mayor
King County Executive Office
Seattle City Council
King County Council
Seattle City Attorney’s Office
King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office
Seattle Police Department
King County Sheriff’s Office
Washington Department of Corrections
Belltown LEAD Community Advisory Board
Skyway LEAD Community Advisory Board
The Defender Association, Racial Disparity Project
ACLU of Washington, Drug Policy Project

Funders
LEAD is currently operating as a pilot program and is being funded by private foundations. It is hoped that LEAD will eventually find permanent funding from public sources. The cost-effectiveness of the program will be studied in detail as part of the evaluation for LEAD.

Current funders include:

Ford Foundation
Open Society Foundations
Vital Projects Fund
RiverStyx Foundation
Massena Foundation
The Social Justice Fund Northwest

President Donald J. Trump’s Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand

HEALTHCARE

We will work to strengthen vulnerable families and communities, and we will help to build and grow a stronger, healthier, and drug-free society.

President Donald J. Trump

ADDRESSING THE DRIVING FORCES OF THE OPIOID CRISIS: President Donald J. Trump’s Initiative to Stop Opioids Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand will confront the driving forces behind the opioid crisis.

President Trump’s Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse will address factors fueling the opioid crisis, including over-prescription, illicit drug supplies, and insufficient access to evidence-based treatment, primary prevention, and recovery support services.

The President’s Opioid Initiative will:

Reduce drug demand through education, awareness, and preventing over-prescription.
Cut off the flow of illicit drugs across our borders and within communities.

Save lives now by expanding opportunities for proven treatments for opioid and other drug addictions.
REDUCE DEMAND AND OVER-PRESCRIPTION: President Trump’s Opioid Initiative will educate Americans about the dangers of opioid and other drug use and seek to curb over-prescription.

Launch a nationwide evidence-based campaign to raise public awareness about the dangers of prescription and illicit opioid use, as well as other drug use.

Support research and development efforts for innovative technologies and additional therapies designed to prevent addiction and decrease the use of opioids in pain management.

This will include supporting research and development for a vaccine to prevent opioid addiction and non-addictive pain management options.

Reduce the over-prescription of opioids which has the potential to lead Americans down a path to addiction or facilitate diversion to illicit use.

Implement a Safer Prescribing Plan to achieve the following objectives:

Cut nationwide opioid prescription fills by one-third within three years.

Ensure that 75 percent of opioid prescriptions reimbursed by Federal healthcare programs are issued using best practices within three years, and 95 percent within five years.

Ensure that at least half of all Federally-employed healthcare providers adopt best practices for opioid prescribing within two years, with all of them doing so within five years.

Leverage Federal funding opportunities related to opioids to ensure that States transition to a
nationally interoperable Prescription Drug Monitoring Program network.

CUT OFF THE SUPPLY OF ILLICIT DRUGS: President Trump’s Opioid Initiative will crack down on international and domestic illicit drug supply chains devastating American communities:

Keep dangerous drugs out of the United States.

Secure land borders, ports of entry, and water ways against illegal smuggling.
Require advance electronic data for 90 percent of all international mail shipments (with goods) and consignment shipments within three years, in order for the Department of Homeland Security to flag high-risk shipments.

Identify and inspect high-risk shipments leveraging advanced screening technologies and by using drug-detecting canines.

Test and identify suspicious substances in high-risk international packages to quickly detect and remove known and emerging illicit drugs before they can cause harm.
Engage with China and expand cooperation with Mexico to reduce supplies of heroin, other illicit opioids, and precursor chemicals.

Advance the Department of Justice (DOJ) Prescription Interdiction and Litigation (PIL) Task Force to fight the prescription opioid crisis. The PIL Task Force will:

Expand the DOJ Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit’s efforts to prosecute corrupt or criminally negligent doctors, pharmacies, and distributors.

Aggressively deploy appropriate criminal and civil actions to hold opioid manufacturers accountable for any unlawful practices.

Shut down illicit opioid sales conducted online and seize any related assets.
Scale up internet enforcement efforts under DOJ’s new Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team.

Strengthen criminal penalties for dealing and trafficking in fentanyl and other opioids:
DOJ will seek the death penalty against drug traffickers, where appropriate under current law.
The President also calls on Congress to pass legislation that reduces the threshold amount of drugs needed to invoke mandatory minimum sentences for drug traffickers who knowingly distribute certain illicit opioids that are lethal in trace amounts.

HELP THOSE STRUGGLING WITH ADDICTION: President Trump’s Opioid Initiative will help those struggling with addiction through evidence-based treatment and recovery support services:

Work to ensure first responders are supplied with naloxone, a lifesaving medication used to reverse overdoses.

Leverage Federal funding opportunities to State and local jurisdictions to incentivize and improve nationwide overdose tracking systems that will help resources to be rapidly deployed to hard-hit areas.
Expand access to evidence-based addiction treatment in every State, particularly Medication-Assisted Treatment for opioid addiction.

Seek legislative changes to the law prohibiting Medicaid from reimbursing residential treatment at certain facilities with more than 16 beds.

In the meantime, continue approving State Medicaid demonstration projects that waive these barriers to inpatient treatment.

Provide on-demand, evidence-based addiction treatment to service members, veterans and their families eligible for healthcare through the Departments of Defense or Veterans Affairs.
Leverage opportunities in the criminal justice system to identify and treat offenders struggling with addiction.

Screen every Federal inmate for opioid addiction at intake.

For those who screen positive and are approved for placement in residential reentry centers, facilitate naltrexone treatment and access to treatment prior to and while at residential reentry centers and facilitate connection to community treatment services as needed.

Scale up support for State, Tribal, and local drug courts in order to provide offenders struggling with addiction access to evidence-based treatment as an alternative to or in conjunction with incarceration, or as a condition of supervised release.

StopOverdose.org

http://stopoverdose.org/

Opioid trends across Washington state

Death data from the Washington State Department of Health Center for Health Statistics are combined with population data from the Office of Financial Management to create rates of death. Data include only deaths for which an underlying cause of death was determined to be any opioid. For more information on data, see details at the end of the page.

ST. JOHNSBURY, VT – FEBRUARY 06: Drugs are prepared to shoot intravenously by a user addicted to heroin on February 6, 2014 in St. Johnsbury Vermont. Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin recently devoted his entire State of the State speech to the scourge of heroin. Heroin and other opiates have begun to devastate many communities in the Northeast and Midwest leading to a surge in fatal overdoses in a number of states. As prescription painkillers, such as the synthetic opiate OxyContin, become increasingly expensive and regulated, more and more Americans are turning to heroin to fight pain or to get high. Heroin, which has experienced a surge in production in places such as Afghanistan and parts of Central America, has a relatively inexpensive street price and provides a more powerful affect on the user. New York City police are currently investigating the death of the actor Philip Seymour Hoffman who was found dead last Sunday with a needle in his arm. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Any opioid: primary categories and sub-categories
Probable heroin
Other opioids
Commonly prescribed opioids
Methadone
Other natural and semi-synthetic opioids: Oxycodone, codeine, morphine, etc.
Other synthetic opioids: Pethidine, tramadol, fentanyl and analogues, etc.
Other and unspecified narcotics, including opium
Deaths attributed to any opioid: 72% increase

As a whole, opioid deaths regardless of subtype occur throughout the state. Modest declines in the opioid death rate in Chelan and Spokane Counties (and some smaller counties) between 2002-2004 and 2014-2016 have been outweighed by increases in most counties, particularly more populous counties. The later period reflects a decline in deaths from intervening years–opioid deaths peaked in 2009 at 720 statewide.

Prison Reform and Redemption Act 2018

LIVE: President Donald Trump Delivers Remarks At Prison Reform Summit – May 18, 2018 | CNBC

Summary: H.R.3356 — 115th Congress (2017-2018)All Information (Except Text)
There is one summary for H.R.3356. Bill summaries are authored by CRS.

Introduced in House (07/24/2017)
Prison Reform and Redemption Act

This bill directs the Department of Justice to develop the Post-Sentencing Risk and Needs Assessment System for use by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to assess prisoner recidivism risk; guide housing, grouping, and program assignments; and incentivize and reward participation in and completion of recidivism reduction programs and productive activities.

It amends the federal criminal code to:

require the BOP to implement the Post-Sentencing Risk and Needs Assessment System;
establish prerelease custody procedures for prisoners who, among other things, earn time credits for successfully completing recidivism reduction programs or productive activities;
prohibit, subject to specified exceptions, the use of restraints on federal prisoners who are pregnant or in postpartum recovery; and
broaden the duties of probation and pretrial services officers to include court-directed supervision of sex offenders conditionally released from civil commitment.
The BOP must:

incorporate de-escalation techniques into its training programs;
report on its ability to treat heroin and opioid abuse through medication-assisted treatment;
establish pilot programs on youth mentorship and service to abandoned, rescued, or vulnerable animals; and
designate a release preparation coordinator at each facility that houses prisoners.
The bill prohibits monitoring the contents of an electronic communication between a prisoner at a BOP facility and the prisoner’s attorney.

It amends the Second Chance Act of 2007 to reauthorize through FY2022 and modify eligibility criteria for an elderly offender early release pilot program.

Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act of 2017

The bill amends the federal criminal code to require the BOP to allow federal correctional officers to securely store and carry concealed firearms on BOP premises outside the security perimeter of a prison.

Flashback – Naloxone: Seattle Police Officers Revive Drug Overdose Victim

Original Published on May 23, 2017

Police responded to a report of a man down in the 1500 block of 9th Avenue just before midnight and were quickly flagged down by a woman. The woman pointed officers to a man lying on the sidewalk, and said he had recently used heroin.

Officer Jared Levitt and Sergeant Dave Hockett saw the 40-year-old man was struggling to breathe and gave him a dose of nasal naloxone and began CPR a short time later.

SFD medics arrived and took over treatment of the man, who regained consciousness and was taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment.

This incident marks the 16th time officers have used Naloxone since Seattle police began carrying it in mid-March. The case will become part of the ongoing study conducted by the University of Washington into SPD’s use of Naloxone for a possible department-wide deployment.

As a reminder, Washington law provides immunity from criminal drug possession charges for anyone seeking medical aid for themselves or someone else experiencing an overdose.

See the Video

Meth, the Forgotten Killer, Is Back. And It’s Everywhere

PORTLAND, Ore. — They huddled against the biting wind, pacing from one corner to another hoping to score heroin or pills. But a different drug was far more likely to be on offer outside the train station downtown, where homeless drug users live in tents pitched on the sidewalk.

“Everybody has meth around here — everybody,” said Sean, a 27-year-old heroin user who hangs out downtown and gave only his first name. “It’s the easiest to find.”

The scourge of crystal meth, with its exploding labs and ruinous effect on teeth and skin, has been all but forgotten amid national concern over the opioid crisis. But 12 years after Congress took aggressive action to curtail it, meth has returned with a vengeance.

Visit The New York Times Website

URGE KING COUNTY TO FOLLOW THE OPIATE TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS

The opiate epidemic in King County is growing. The King County Opiate Addiction Task Force has recommended a new comprehensive strategy to fight this crisis, including the opening of two pilot safe consumption spaces. In these facilities, healthcare professionals can prevent overdose deaths, reduce the spread of diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C, and efficiently refer people struggling with addiction to treatment. Tell the King County Council to support this safe, effective, and scientifically proven method of responding to the opiate epidemic.

URGE KING COUNTY TO FOLLOW THE OPIATE TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS

Please visit THIS LINK

Volunteer with Inmates and Detainees

Dedicated. Compassionate. Committed.

Volunteers are selfless individuals who are inspired to make a difference and change lives. And we’re proud to say that many such volunteers have found a home, serving inmates and detainees within our facilities, mending the broken-spirited, and giving hope to those who just needed someone to believe in them.

At CCA, we believe in the value of volunteers who give of their time to benefit inmates and detainees and to serve the interests of their communities, religious organizations, or other non-profit organizations. We seek to provide volunteers with opportunities to fulfill their charitable missions and work to the benefit of inmates and detainees. These volunteers are encouraged to apply to enter our facilities, with the understanding that they are serving not on CCA’s behalf – but on behalf of the men and women who are incarcerated.

CCA is a correctional system with nearly 70 prisons, jails, detention centers and residential reentry centers across the country. We operate safe and secure correctional facilities that protect our communities, provide thousands of jobs, and serve as place for growth and renewal for the inmates in our care.