Press release:
Meridian Behavioral Health Services is pleased to announce that a new program was added to their continuum of services on November 1, 2016. The “Early Recovery Team” or ERT is an alternative community- based team approach that specializes in working with individuals in the early stages of addiction recovery who have had difficulty engaging in treatment. This population often ends up seeking treatment in local emergency departments because treatment options are limited or they simply don’t know where to go for help with addiction recovery. ERT hopes to reduce the number of individuals going to a local ED for substance abuse treatment through community- based, stage wise treatment.
This service is funded through a generous grant from the Evergreen Foundation, in the amount of $82,500.00, with additional investment from Meridian. Since ERT is a grant funded service, it allows the team to serve individuals with or without a funder source. ERT is designed to engage a population of folks who are grossly underserved in the current, public mental health system. ERT anticipates that an individual engaged in this service will see reduced ED admissions, decreased frequency of law enforcement encounters, increased motivation to engage in services, increased support in their recovery journey, and most importantly, an enhanced quality of life.
“We feel lucky and blessed that ERT will be staffed by primarily veteran Meridian employees who are already well versed in Meridian’s recovery culture and whose experience in the field will bring a richness and depth to a brand new service”, said Kristy Whitaker-Smith, Meridian ACTT & ERT Services Manager.
This service is available in Jackson and Haywood Counties. For additional information, contact Meridian Behavioral Health Services at 828-631-3973.
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