YSM program to fight addiction, recidivism:
Three hundred inmates with a history of substance abuse will soon be connected with resources and treatment to help them transition back to life in New Haven, thanks to a new collaboration between professors at the Yale School of Medicine and state agencies.
The program, called “Living Free,” offers comprehensive addiction treatment, health care and peer mentors through an integrated care model. Beginning this January, Living Free aims to tackle recidivism with the help of a three-year grant worth $1.2 million from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in conjunction with the Connecticut Department of Correction and Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. The upcoming program stands out as a support system available to inmates while they are still incarcerated and are awaiting release.
“What’s unique about this program is that we’re trying to connect with people and begin the treatment process before they’re released from incarceration,” said Lindsay Oberleitner, associate director of the Forensic Drug Division Clinic of the Connecticut Mental Health Center in New Haven, the primary location of the program. “[That is] not standard of care for addiction treatment.”
A Jan. 26 press release reports that Living Free’s combined approach will be particularly impactful for inmates who struggled with substance use. Roughly 68 percent of addicted offenders are arrested within three years of release from incarceration.
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