Laying the Groundwork for a Peer Recovery Network in Chaffee County
Featuring Mike Orrill, Former RHC in Region 13
Addressing opioid use and substance use disorder was a primary focus of Mike Orrill’s work from the time that he joined the Regional Health Connector workforce in 2017. Mike’s early work as an RHC supported the creation and facilitation of a regional coalition known as SARC, the Substance Abuse Regional Coalition, and involved hosting community awareness events that invited community members to learn about addiction and recovery resources from a panel of experts and people in recovery through a Q&A format. Additionally, Mike partnered with the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention to facilitate trainings for mental health and substance use providers focused on opioid use, safe prescribing, Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) and Narcan administration.
The impact achieved through these early initiatives laid the groundwork for building out a peer recovery network that became the focus of Mike’s local priority project in 2021. Mike supported numerous initiatives connected to this goal, including supporting initial funding efforts for Peer Empowered Recovery Community Solutions (PERCS) in Fremont County as the organization established as a non
profit Recovery Community Organization (RCO). Mike also supported the launch of Ark Valley Recovery, an initiative of Chaffee County Public Health and SARC that introduced a free service of peer recovery coaches to help those struggling with alcohol and drug abuse get on the road to recovery. Covering Chaffee, Custer, Fremont and Lake Counties, Ark Valley Recovery’s team of trained peer recovery coaches have lived experiences with addiction and are now in long-term recovery and support all pathways to recovery.
Drawing parallels to the Regional Health Connector Program, Mike notes that one of the jobs of peer recovery coaches is to be a resource broker for folks seeking recovery, much in the same way that RHCs serve as resource brokers between the systems that keep us healthy. Mike’s BHRA project continued the growth of these longstanding efforts by supporting the expansion of PERCS and increasing access to peer recovery support groups.
