Our Crowdfunding Groups
If you missed out, there's still time to make an impact! Visit go.uth.edu/HEROES to show your support today.
The HEROES program started in 2018 with the humble goal of reaching 50 patients. In two years we have expanded to serve over 650 patients, and with your support, we have been able to provide people in recovery from opioid disorder the resources and support required to rebuild their lives! Last year's crowdfunding campaign raised $5000 that all goes toward transportation, housing, medical and legal costs as required by our patients in need. THANK YOU!
Our overall goal is to build community resilience to the opioid crisis by developing an assertive response approach in collaboration with emergency services, such as the police and fire departments, social services, and community hospitals. To provide patients with complete wraparound care that will ensure their sustained recovery, we are raising funds to offer assistance with prescriptions, transportation, housing, and other resources to help people recovering from OUD establish fulfilling, drug-free lives and contribute to the overall agenda of HEROES: Seeking Solutions to End the Opioid Epidemic.
As our program grows, we are hoping to reach broader populations including youth in need of recovery resources, and populations living with OUD and HIV or Hepatitis. Our goal is always to find solutions to end the opioid epidemic, but day to day we serve to save lives.
Nearly 70,000 people died of an overdose last year, and more than 67% were related to opioids. The Houston Emergency Opioid Engagement System (HEROES) program helps to identify, engage, and treat those with opioid use disorder (OUD) through comprehensive medical, behavioral, and peer support services. We need your help.
10+ million people misused prescription medications last year
In 2018, Texas saw over 1600 people die from opioids with nearly 335 of those in Houston alone. This keeps growing
This impacts everybody – it could be your parents, your child, your sibling, or you.
Partnering with trusted community collaborators, HEROES peer recovery specialists can reach out to people living with OUD and offer them a successful recovery program while they are in moments of crisis and highly motivated to make a change.
We provide immediate access to clinical care from the most qualified emergency physicians and nurse practitioners, direct behavioral counseling, and peer recovery support services, and we link patients to ongoing maintenance of medical treatment. This process includes same-day diagnosis, prescription, and induction into medicated-assisted treatment using buprenorphine, an opioid agonist used to treat withdrawal.
Our research indicates that 80% of high-risk individuals enrolled in the HEROES program remain actively engaged in their recovery and comply with treatment for longer than 90 days, while national figures report that in the absence of assertive outreach and comprehensive treatment, nine in 10 individuals with OUD will relapse within this same period.
Many of our patients receive METRO cards and other transportation assistance. With your donation, we can make sure they get to their doctor and counseling appointments and peer support groups.
The HEROES program will award select, successful patients with the opportunity to pursue an education in Peer Recovery Coaching so that they may share the fruits of their recoveries with others and keep the mission of HEROES alive.
Intranasal NARCAN is a medication used to reverse opioid overdose and save the lives of individuals living with opioid use disorder. HEROES provides NARCAN to various communities around Texas - each unit provides an individual the opportunity to survive an overdose and choose recovery!
Upon enrollment into the HEROES program, patients receive a medical check-up to gauge their overall health before beginning treatment. This check-up is an essential first step in the road to recovery. Thank you for helping us provide this service!
Suboxone is a medication prescribed by licensed physicians to treat opioid withdrawal in patients who have chosen recovery. HEROES believes this medication is an integral necessity in opioid use disorder recovery. With your help, we can provide someone with a whole month of this medication - giving them time to get back on their feet.
Many of our patients enter the program with nowhere to stay. Sober living facilities offer safe, drug-free environments in which patients can sleep soundly and eat healthily while surrounded by peers who support their decision to recover.
