6646 S. Federal Highway, Port St. Lucie, Fl. 34952
772 241-5761
202 NE 2nd Street Suite 5, Okeechobee, Fl. 34972
863-623-4270
705 Kitterman Rd. Port St. Lucie, Fl. 34952
772-241-5843
Funded through the Federal Health Resources and Services Administration’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (HOGOC) is focusing on the following goals over the next three years.
Funded through the Federal Health Resources and Services Administration’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (HOGOC) is focusing on the following goals over the next three years.
Funded through the Federal Health Resources and Administration’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program HOGOC is focusing on the following goals over the next three years:
Participation is free and open to all who reside in or work with the residents of Hendry, Okeechobee and Glades counties. According to the grant guidelines, HRSA has charged the group with developing and implementing solutions grounded in evidence-based or promising practice models which can be tailored to each community’s unique needs.
“Our foundation serves more than 20 counties across Florida and is the largest provider of prevention services in the state,” said Ryan Wertepny, Chief Program Officer for Hanley Foundation. “Our role as a connector in this new programming is truly an honor and more critical now than ever. With all that 2020 has brought upon families, we hope the community will join us in our fight against the devastating rise of opioid overdoses – even more of an issue now in the wake of the pandemic.”
To date, HOGOC partners include Beyond Barriers, Inc.; City of Okeechobee; Everglades AHEC, Inc.; Hanley Foundation, Health Planning Council of Southwest Florida; Hendry County Sheriff’s Office; Lake Okeechobee Rural Health Network; New Horizons of the Treasure Coast and Okeechobee; 19th Circuit Court; Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office; Okeechobee Substance Abuse; Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network; Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council; and United Way Lee, Hendry, Glades, and Okeechobee.
“HOGOC has already strengthened the organizational partnerships between Hendry, Okeechobee, and Glades counties,” said Sheriff Noel Stephen, Okeechobee County Sheriff. “Through this project, we are able to provide overdose prevention education and lifesaving medication to those at the highest risk of overdose. The Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office will continue to work closely with our consortium partners to increase substance use disorder and opioid use disorder programs and services in our community.”
Thanks to a recent $1 million grant from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, Hanley Foundation is facilitating a consortium of community leaders to examine the impact of the opioid crisis in rural Florida. The Hendry, Okeechobee, and Glades Opioid Consortium (HOGOC) will use those funds over the next three years to address the prevention, treatment, and recovery needs of residents of those counties.
HOGOC is open to all who reside in or work with the residents of Hendry, Okeechobee and Glades counties. If you would like to join the consortium or otherwise support out initiatives, please contact…
Ryan Wertepny
According to a study performed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), every $1 spent on treatment saves society between $4 to $7 in reduced drug-related crime, criminal justice costs, and theft. Additionally, $1 of treatment can create $12 in savings when factoring in reduced strain on the healthcare system.
“Surely an ounce of prevention is worth more than the life and death struggle of someone suffering from a substance use disorder,” said John Makris, a Hanley Foundation board member who lost his son to an opioid overdose. “When we change the conversation from stigma to empathy, we save lives. Let’s stop substance use disorder before it hits.”
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202 NE 2nd Street, Suite 5
Okeechobee, Florida 34972
(863) 623-4270
lifeline@ritelifeservices.org