David Ashley Williams is Director of the Oconee Addiction Recovery and Solutions (OARS) Program in Oconee County, South Carolina. OARS’ mission is to provide hope, cultivate change, and restore lives for individuals seeking recovery from substance use through a combination of in-house recovery programs and non-residential intervention and educational programs. OARS utilized a Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to implement a 30-day inpatient substance use recovery treatment program for individuals in pre- or post-incarceration status. The program features collaboration between law enforcement, community health providers, and other partners to improve response and enhance connections to service for people at high risk for overdose and substance use. “We desire for our clients to make choices about their recovery path. It’s important for them to understand that this is their journey and making their choices will validate them, which will empower them, which will also help them to stay their course” David says. “Just over the past year and a half we have taken in 110 new clients. Out of those, we had 90 individuals graduate from the 30-day recovery program. That gave us a 78 percent success rate; the national average is 43 percent. That’s a positive step in Oconee County. We see this community growing every day.”