York County OPTIONS
Jan 09, 2025 12:30 PM
Joanna Shaw
York County OPTIONS
Joanna Shaw is a York County OPTIONS clinician and guest of District Governor, Bob MacKenzie.
The Overdose Prevention Through Intensive Outreach Naloxone and Safety (OPTIONS) initiative is a coordinated effort of the Maine Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) and other state agencies to improve the health of Mainers with substance use disorder. OPTIONS supports treatment, harm reduction and recovery, and aims to reduce the number of fatal and non-fatal drug related overdoses. The OPTIONS co-responder initiative partners licensed behavioral health clinicians within local emergency medical services (EMS) and law enforcement agencies in every county across Maine. Liaisons work alongside their first responder counterparts to:
- Provide brief therapeutic interventions when appropriate.
- Conduct proactive outreach with at-risk communities.
- De-escalate behavioral health crises when possible.
- Engage in post-overdose follow up and help with referrals.