Outreach
Inviting the missing 90% to get the help they need.
One in ten adults struggles with alcohol or other drugs. However, only 10% of those folks ever come to a place like Ten16. When you dig even deeper into their situation, the majority of them don't believe that they have a problem. If you ask their family or friends, you might get a different answer. Rather than just waiting for the missing 90% to show up at our doorstep, Ten16 is aggressively looking for ways to get in front of people and ask about how alcohol and other drugs are impacting the quality of their life so far.
A good example is the Project Assert program. Ten16 now has staff in the Emergency Department at several local hospitals including Midland, Clare, Gladwin, Reed City, and Big Rapids. In the summer of 2017, we will be expanding to Alma and Mt Pleasant. We use the Project Assert program model, first established by Boston Medical Center over 25 years ago. Working in cooperation with the medical staff, patients are screened for a substance use disorder. 40% of the patients that we have met with have screened positive! We then invite them into a conversation about their relationship with alcohol and drugs; get them to put together a plan for change and encourage them to connect with our treatment and support options. We are planting seeds of hope and change!
