OCCMHA Set to Launch New Substance Use Detox Program in Late Spring

Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority (OCCMHA) is gearing up to launch a new program that accommodates the immediate substance use needs of the community, including increased access to residential services and working with all Oakland County law enforcement partners to enhance jail diversion efforts. This special service unit is opening in late spring at the Resource and Crisis Center (RCC) on the county government campus in Pontiac.

“OCCMHA’s new detoxification and monitoring service has been on our radar and under development for more than a year now,” states Christina Nicholas, administrator of Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Services at OCCMHA. “The program will provide a safe place for law enforcement to bring individuals until they are ready to receive treatment and begin their journey toward recovery.”

The goal of the new sobering and monitoring program is to provide a supportive environment for people experiencing side effects of drug and alcohol intoxication and to serve as a gateway to further treatment for substance use disorders.

“Partnerships are an important element in our strategy to address the opioid epidemic being faced by our county and nation,” says Oakland County Sheriff, Michael Bouchard. “Our ongoing relationship with OCCMHA demonstrates our commitment to families and individuals whose lives are impacted by substance use disorders.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports significant increases in drug overdose death rates from 2014 to 2015 in many states, including Michigan. The number of drug related deaths has risen in Michigan in the last decade, with 1,745 statewide in 2014.

Common Ground has been selected by OCCMHA to manage the residential, nonmedical unit, which is staffed by trained professionals who offer twenty-hour monitoring and observation as a first step toward long-term substance use treatment services. The new program will accommodate ten individuals at any given time, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Individuals who do not wish to engage law enforcement support, can still seek substance use services through OCCMHA’s access point, which is also located at the RCC. Service access information is available online at www.occmha.org or by calling (248) 464-6363.

About OCCMHA

Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority is the public mental health system responsible for identifying, influencing, and delivering services and supports to approximately 25,000 Oakland County residents, including individuals with intellectual/developmental

disabilities, adults with mental illness, children with serious emotional disturbance, and persons with substance use disorders. Most of these individuals have Medicaid.

OCCMHA’s current network of service providers include: Common Ground, Community Housing Network, Community Living Services, Community Network Services, Easterseals Michigan, Macomb-Oakland Regional Center, Oakland Family Services, Inc., and Training and Treatment Innovations. A complete list of substance use service providers is available on OCCMHA’s website. For more information about OCCMHA call (800) 341-2003 or visit www.occmha.org.