PORT ANGELES — Clallam County’s expanded approach to supporting individuals with opioid use disorder has resulted in zero overdose deaths post jail release throughout the life of the program.
The program, known as Help, Opportunity, Prevention and Medication (HOPE), provides medication and reentry services to individuals who come through jail with an alcohol or opioid addiction.
The end goal is to reduce recidivism and provide people assistance to help them become productive citizens, Sheriff Brian King said during a presentation to the Port Angeles Noon Rotary on Wednesday.
For the past few years, Clallam County has hovered between first and third for the highest rate of overdose death rates in the state, HOPE program manager Kelly Hall said.
“We have sat there for the entire span of the fentanyl epidemic,” she said.
After HOPE, Hall said the county is the 10th highest in the state.
“We’d like to keep that dropping down,” Hall said.
The HOPE program kicks into action as soon as individuals are booked into jail. At that point, staff ask whether the individual has an opioid use disorder or is going to go through withdrawal.
“It’s not about judging or bias or stigma,” Chief Criminal Deputy Amy Bundy said.
Instead, that question is designed to determine if an individual needs help, she said.
If people require support, medical jail staff will work to verify pre-prescribed medications such as methadone and help provide those at the jail.
If the individual does not have prescribed medication or the prescription cannot be verified, staff offer the individual the option of microdosing. Bundy said that allows patients to build up tolerance in a safe and effective way, so once individuals are released from jail, their built-up tolerance will protect them from overdose deaths.
“The microdosing protocol is one of the biggest game-changers we’ve had in the process,” Hall said.
Someone with opioid use disorder is 10 times more likely to die of an overdose once they leave jail, usually within the first two weeks of release, Hall said.
“This program was designed to get people with OUD medication, so they don’t leave the jail with zero tolerance, because people with no tolerance go out and they die,” Hall said.
HOPE doesn’t end at the jail walls, however. The county also employs a re-entry specialist who provides at least three months of re-entry support, including assisting with medication, helping with inpatient treatment and transporting the individual when needed.
Because insurance typically won’t cover health needs when an individual is incarcerated, the program’s holistic services also work to help reinstate insurance or use grant funding to cover the costs.
To ensure no one gets lost in the network of society, Hall said the program utilizes multiple “capture points” outside the facility such as shelters, the harm reduction center and more. This ensures that, even when people are released from jail, they can still be found so services and support can be offered.
“We’re able to follow up with the person and make sure their needs are met,” Hall said.
The HOPE program is completely grant funded, Bundy said. This month, the county was awarded $1 million in state funding to continue this program, King said.
During the first year of the program, which expanded a previous county program, the county served 128 people. In 2023, the county served 244 people.
The increased numbers were a result of introducing the microdosing protocol into the jail and an expansion of who was eligible for services, Hall said.
Overall, the program has seen 162 inpatient treatment placements for 124 individuals. There are only about 10 people who have required multiple repeated placements, Bundy said.
From 2023 to 2024, the county reduced fatal overdoses by 33 percent.
“That’s a statistic that’s just really near and dear to my heart,” Hall said.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
