Educate Community Members
Many community members trust their local criminal justice agencies to keep them safe and healthy, so sharing with the public about the work being done to support justice-involved individuals with SUD can have a significant impact on reducing stigma. Criminal justice agencies can work with local media to share stories about the ways they connect individuals with SUD to treatment, disseminate resources and educational materials to the community about the agency’s work to support individuals with SUD, post information about services and success stories on social media, and lead training sessions or encourage informal conversations about SUD with community members. Criminal justice agencies also should be sure to share examples of how what they are doing is working to support individuals’ recovery, through aggregate data and through personal stories. Sharing positive recovery stories can help counter inaccurate stereotypes about justice-involved individuals with SUD.
Resource Library
August 13, 2020
Online Resource