Opioid/Heroin Crisis and Land Use

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• Navigate land-use topics on behalf of your community while managing what is often an extremely emotional journey for individuals touched by addiction
• Identify short- and long-term local strategies and emerging practices at the intersection of planning and the opioid epidemic
• The legal authority to operate for land use for sober living houses, residential recovery centers, and peer-to-peer support group homes

MORE SESSION DETAILS

The opioid and heroin drug crisis is creating public health and land-use challenges in communities across the country. Many APA chapter members from across the country have identified the opioid epidemic as an emerging priority for their communities. This session will provide a platform to discuss the challenges involved and learn ways to respond from two different disciplines - planning and public health. Moreover, it will provide an opportunity for peer sharing and network building with planners working on this topic. Learn how the "Florida Model" is serving as a national template in response to the rising costs of treatment by providing sober-living homes that separate treatment from housing. Under what circumstances are these group homes regulated or, as sometimes conversely argued, do they serve as a federally protected class under state and federal laws? In 2016, more than 300 Rhode Islanders lost their lives to overdose. Rhode Island has developed a strategic plan to address the opioid epidemic. A public health expert with extensive research experience on the topic will discuss the plan and the strategic initiatives used to complement existing overdose prevention efforts.