Jail staff, participants describe HEART program that links people with opioid use disorder to treatment and housing help

Staff members and program participants at a jail described the HEART program as a structured, peer-centered effort to help people with opioid use disorder transition from custody to community care.

A staff member opened the presentation by saying, "What's become our mission here is we understand that people leave us one of two ways," framing the program as focused on rehabilitation and reentry rather than simply managing confinement. Program staff described HEART as "a holistic approach to treatment for opioid use disorder" in partnership with the Northwestern community service board, which provides community-based services beyond the jail's capacity.

The program's core components, staff members said, are medication, therapy, case management and peer services. "All of the systems bridge the individuals to the community upon release," a staff member said, emphasizing continuity of care as central to the model. Staff repeatedly stressed that medication alone is not sufficient: "You can't just give someone the Suboxone or the methadone and it be a cure all," one speaker said, adding that counseling, therapy and peer support address deeper causes of substance use.

Several participants who identified as peers explained how lived experience shapes the program. One meeting participant who said they are on Suboxone described acting as "a sober friend" to others and recounted, "She got me right into a rehab. She got me my first month rent free at a sober living house, jobs, a checking account. Anything that I needed, all I had to do was ask." Those accounts were presented as evidence that peer staff can increase trust and access to concrete resources.

Staff framed HEART as a "bridge" to community services: "You do not leave here not knowing where you're going if you are in the HEART program," a staff member said. Expected outcomes discussed by staff included repurposing and refocusing participants' lives, securing employment, and obtaining housing after release. One speaker contrasted the program with "typical" jails, saying this jail plans for a participant's next steps rather than leaving them without prospects.

Speakers also named specific personnel and partners involved in the work. One participant referenced "captain Custer" and the superintendent, saying the captain "was passionate about it" and that leadership had earned participants' trust. A staff member described role divisions, naming "sergeant Moore" as responsible for daily jail operations and "Stephanie Purdy" as the staff person who handles treatment and mental health; the Northwestern community service board was cited as the community partner.

The session closed with a recitation of the HEART identity: "HEART, helping each other align recovery together," and remarks about mutual support in recovery. No formal motions or votes were recorded in the transcript; the presentation emphasized program structure, staffing and participant testimonials as the primary content.

The program description provided in the session documents the jail's effort to combine clinical treatment and peer-based supports for people with opioid use disorder, and it underscores the facility's stated aim of linking individuals to housing, employment and ongoing care after release.