Deaths of despair–from suicide, opioid overdose, and alcohol use–have been at an all-time high for the decade leading up to the pandemic–and skyrocketed during the pandemic by 23%. The state of Delaware had one of the top 5 rates of death of despair in the nation. In addition, Delaware like all states across the nation have a long history of criminalizing people with mental health and addictions, especially in communities of color. Delaware has a 15% higher absolute rate of criminalization of people of color than other states.
Financial insecurity, hopelessness for a better future, social isolation, all contribute to deaths of despair–along with the availability of street drugs like fentanyl which can lead to accidental overdose.
The Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH)
Delaware Department of Public Health (DPH)
Delaware Division of Child Services
Delaware Division of Services for Children, Youth, and their Families
Delaware Department of Corrections
Delaware Medicaid
Health Management Associates (technical assistance partner)
Wellbeing and Equity (WE) in the World (strategy and technical assistance partner)
Community partners (schools, businesses, health care providers, etc.)
Approach & Building Blocks
No wrong door access approach – meet people wherever they were at
Connection/realtime information exchange
D-TRN – closed loop information system to connect and refer people to services across sectors with information back about disposition
Stories to System Change – to identify how existing systems were serving people with mental health and addictions well–and where they were failing them–across sectors and over the course of someone’s life
And Failings Forward
– Elizabeth Romero, Division Director of DSAMH, 2019
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