In 1997, upon discovering a growing and seemingly localized opioid epidemic, Rio Arriba County established the Rio Arriba Health and Human Services (RAHHS), the first county-run health and human services department in the state of New Mexico. It serves all county residents, but staff specifically reach out to individuals experiencing substance use disorder who have survived overdose at the local hospital, and to individuals presenting with opioid use disorder (OUD) who are identified at the jail, by law-enforcement, or before a court.
RAHHS has led innovative programs and ways of providing services to the community where jail diversion is at every intercept point through a county-led network of provider agencies connected through outcome-based case management.
The department developed county capacity to support Adult Day Care, substance and opioid use disorder treatment, and case management through Medicaid.
RAHHS Programs & Services
Following are some of the programs currently housed under RAC HHS:
- REROUTE
- RAC PICK Mobile Service Program
- RAC Peer Supported Probation Program
- CRIT Program
- RAC Benefit Enrollment Program
- RAC Naloxone Enhancement Program
- RAC Vaccine and Behavioral Health Equity Program
- Northern New Mexico Rural Health Network Program
- Northern New Mexico Rural Housing Taskforce
Notice: Rio Arriba County invites community members to provide feedback and comments to its PRICE Housing Proposal Draft. Questions, comments, and feedback can be submitted by email to Ahmed Dadzie at ahmed.dadzie@rio-arriba.org (comments can be provided in either English or Spanish). The proposal(PDF, 295KB) will be posted from 06/25/24 through 07/10/2024.
Reroute
This program (formerly called LEAD) is funded through a Bureau of Justice Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSAP) grant. This program aims at “intercepting” low-level, non-violent offenders before they are incarcerated to help them through treatment and recovery programs, and through housing if needed. The clients are referred into the system by law enforcement or the courts, and begin a SUD/OUD treatment program coordinated by a RAHHSD Case Manager. The Case Manager works closely with the clients to provide them the resources needed to successfully recover. Such resources include transportation to and from treatment appointments (which may include driving them to Santa Fe), scheduling appointments, helping them navigate the paperwork necessary to apply for Medicaid, and finding them temporary or long-term housing.
Northern New Mexico Rural Housing Taskforce
Through a HRSA grant, RAHHSD formed a Rural Housing Network that would work to create an assessment of housing needs for the community, and to combine and collaborate with area stakeholders and partners. This grant project began in January, 2023 and is projected to end June 30, 2023. However, when the grant ends, we intend to keep the currently formed network in place to continue addressing housing issues for Rio Arriba County. A highlight of the work carried out in this time was the saving of a low-income apartment complex that was going to close, forcing up to 79 people to find other housing options (quite impossible considering the housing shortage in the city and county). By tapping into the newly formed housing network, the apartments were saved from closing and were instead purchased by the city, which is now looking to renovate them and continue using them for low-income housing. We hope that projects like these will continue to be accomplished through our Rural Housing Network.
Call for Public Comments on RACHHS's Affordable Housing Proposal
Project Title: Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing
Project Overview:
RAC in collaboration with its regional partners (Los Alamos County and Sandoval County) is submitting a proposal to construct 49 affordable housing complexes and 16 transitional housing units for its low income and justice involved populations. The program seeks to address gaps in affordable housing supply, by providing low income families with cost effective housing options. Additionally, the program seeks to remove housing and other barriers often incurred by the justice involved populations as they transition back into society. Through this initiative the program plans to bring together relevant stakeholders to discuss and recommend changes in discriminatory housing policies as well as propose policies to help foster inclusivity and advance justice in housing.
Please review the Pathways to Removing Obstacles proposal(PDF, 1MB) and send comments to Ahmed Dadzie ahmed.dadzie@rio-arriba.org by 5pm October 30th, 2023.