Crossroads wants to be your partner of choice to help the justice-involved population. Our Soft Re-Entry Program was designed specifically to support justice-involved individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) upon their release, giving them a soft landing and a warm handoff into our program. Peer Support Specialists, Care Managers, and Care Navigators are available to assist with insurance, transportation, housing, and other community resources. This program was developed in response to the alarming number of overdose deaths in this population.
Crossroads offers Instant Intake® and bridge prescriptions. Please call our dedicated line at 877.848.9294 to refer a patient today. If you are a potential patient, please call this line and we will direct you on how to enter the program. We look forward to serving the justice-involved population.
Overdose Deaths in the Justice-Involved Population
Many individuals will return to using substances at levels similar to what they used before incarceration, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Unfortunately, their bodies can no longer tolerate the same doses, dramatically increasing their risk of overdose and death. It is vitally important for the justice-involved population to get treatment for substance use during their transition home. Here’s why:
- Justice-involved individuals are 40 times more likely to die of an overdose in the first two weeks after release compared to the general population.
- Very few prisons offer medication for SUDs.
- The risk of overdose death is highest among justice-involved women.
Substance Use In Justice-Involved Population
Substance use continues to pose a significant challenge to our society, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. According to the CDC, there were more than 109,000 overdoses in 2022. Recent data from SAMHSA shows that in 2022, 48.7 million people (or 17.3%) had an SUD in the past year. The prevalence of SUDs among justice-involved individuals is even more startling. According to NIDA, approximately 65% of this population met the criteria for an SUD.
The reasons behind this disparity of SUD in justice-involved individuals, when compared to the general population, are complex. They include:
- Lack of Access to Treatment: While prisons provide medical care, access to evidence-based addiction treatment remains limited.
- Recidivism: The revolving door of incarceration worsens SUD. Justice-involved individuals face immense challenges reintegrating into society, leading them to relapse and re-offend.
- Health Consequences
Justice-involved individuals with an SUD experience a host of health issues:- Withdrawal: Many justice-involved individuals have an existing SUD prior to incarceration. Withdrawal symptoms can be severe, affecting their physical and mental well-being.
- Co-Occurring Disorders: SUD often coexists with mental health conditions. Without proper treatment, these dual diagnoses contribute to a cycle of incarceration and relapse.
Transition Home for Justice-Involved Individuals
Crossroads knows that the transition from incarceration back to home can be challenging for people with an SUD. That’s why we’ve made the process for people to get treatment as easy as possible. Our outpatient treatment centers provide medication-assisted treatment for SUD. A New York study showed that programs that provide these types of medications to justice-involved individuals reduce the risk of fatal overdose by 80%.
Crossroads offers Instant Intake for new patients, where patients can access treatment through a virtual appointment if they cannot make it to an in-person appointment at one of our centers. As part of the Instant Intake process, bridge prescriptions may be provided to allow the patient to receive a short-term prescription until they can make it to an in-person appointment.