D.A.R.T.
“The officers assure them that they're only there to link them to treatment if they want it, it’s completely voluntarily.” - Lt. Bobby Chromik, Lucas County Sheriff’s Office
Treatment providers know it can be extremely difficult to reach people in need of help, particularly when it comes to opioid users. Many people in active opioid addiction will avoid certain institutions or public spaces, making it almost impossible for providers to make contact and introduce them to treatment options. That’s why a new initiative from the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office looks to help people by reaching them when they need it most.
individual and offer them information about treatment options. Lt. Bobby Chromik, the officer in charge of the unit, says the goal is not to punish, but to facilitate a path to a better life. “The officers assure them that they're only there to link them to treatment if they want it, it’s completely voluntarily,” Lt. Chromik says. “If detox is required, they will link them to a detox unit.”
Create contact
also collaborates with community organizations like UMADAOP Lucas County. As part of their mission to prevent overdose deaths, D.A.R.T. now seeks to create points of contact immediately following an overdose event. When the 9-1-1 system alerts the sheriff’s office to an overdose, two plainclothes officers go to the hospital to meet with the
The Lucas County Sheriff’s Office started the Drug Abuse Response Team, known as D.A.R.T., in 2014 to respond to the growing opioid epidemic. What started with just a few officers has now grown to include 10 full-time officers and 11 part-time officers in a multijurisdictional unit that
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