Perrin Varland
Pronouns: He/Him
Research Mentor(s): Aaron Rubio
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: United Community Addiction Network / 0
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Oral5
Session: Session 4 – 2:40pm – 3:30 pm
Room: Breakout room 1
Authors: Perrin Varland, Aaron Rubio
Presenter: 6
Abstract
Genesee County has long struggled with addiction and substance abuse disorders. As a result, UCAN aims to unite different community resources to combat the disease of addiction through hospitals, the judicial system, law enforcement, and more. It is very common for people struggling with addiction to come and go from the hospital in a cycle of overdoses or be sent to prison, as there are few resources to help them break out of this pattern. Consequently, the United Community Addiction Network has led judicial initiatives to help people who suffer from addiction find treatment in specialty courts, known as recovery courts. These provide citizens a second chance at rehabilitation and betterment through lengthy programs as opposed to being sent to jail. For this project, I looked at specialty courts across the country and in Michigan to see what aspects they all had in common and what features Genesee County could add. From this, we were able to better improve our judicial initiatives so that they can be the most effective they can be and help as many people as possible. This research has shown that recovery courts can help lead the way to a healthier life as opposed to an incarcerated one.
Biomedical Sciences, Interdisciplinary, Public Health, Social Sciences
