Police + Peer Post Overdose Response Team
Peer Response at the Point of Crisis
Hot Springs pairs a peer recovery specialist with an overdose investigator to respond after fatal and non-fatal overdoses, connect people and families to help, and investigate drug supply cases without leaving recovery support to chance.
The Challenge They Were Addressing
Before the Overdose Response Team existed, overdose calls in Hot Springs were handled mainly as law enforcement events. Officers responded, attempted to identify the source of the drug, and moved on to the next call. People who survived an overdose, friends on scene, and grieving families did not have a steady person inside the response who could connect them to treatment, recovery support, grief help, or practical resources.
The gap became clearer as fentanyl changed local drug use patterns. The department saw that an arrest-only response would not stop repeat overdoses or help families in crisis. Officers also needed a known referral point. When someone asked for help, patrol staff and investigators needed to know exactly who could step in and stay connected after the call cleared.
Federal COPE grant funding helped start the team in 2021. The grant brought investigative tools and required a broader overdose response model, which led the department to pair a narcotics investigator with a peer recovery specialist. Arkansas settlement funding then gave Hot Springs two years to prove the model, pay the two positions, and build the habits that later made city funding possible.
What They Built
The Hot Springs Overdose Response Team is a two-person unit: a sworn overdose investigator and a civilian peer recovery specialist. They respond to fatal and non-fatal overdoses inside the city. The investigator handles the law-enforcement side, develops leads, reviews evidence, and builds case files for prosecutor review when charges are warranted. The peer recovery specialist handles the service side, using their recovery experience to initiate conversations that a uniformed officer may not be able to.
On a non-fatal overdose, the team goes to the scene or hospital when the person is awake and able to talk. The peer introduces herself as a civilian, explains that peer services are voluntary, and shares enough of her own recovery story to reduce tension when it is useful. She also talks with friends, witnesses, and family members on scene, collects contact information, and follows up until the person says to stop or asks for help.
In a fatal overdose, the peer role shifts toward the family. That can mean grief counseling referrals, funeral or bereavement resources, kinship support for grandparents raising children, or connection to other peers who understand loss related to substance use. At the same time, the investigator can continue the death investigation with a partner on scene who helps families feel less alone and less afraid to speak.
The team also works beyond overdose scenes. Officers can refer people they meet on patrol, and the peer tracks whether referrals come from overdose response, outside organizations, or officers. The team provides naloxone training, school and community education, and local events such as Kicking the Stigma, a kickball game that brings police, fire, LifeNet, treatment centers, and recovery homes together in a relaxed setting.
Key Program Components
Who You Need at the Table
What made a willing partner essential vs. optional?
The most necessary partners are the ones who can act when the person is ready. For the peer role, that means detox and treatment partners who answer at odd hours, accept someone in need now, or arrange transportation to Hot Springs when the team cannot leave the city. A referral list is not enough if the person walks away before a bed, ride, or intake is set.
Inside the justice system, patrol officers and leadership are not background partners. They decide whether the team hears about the overdose, whether the peer is treated as part of the department, and whether the model survives after grant funding ends. Judges, prosecutors, and defense counsel matter when cases require both accountability and a realistic path to treatment.
Budget Breakdown
What is the minimum viable budget to replicate this?
The minimum version is one peer recovery specialist, one investigator or designated officer, a clear referral process from patrol and EMS, basic data tracking, and sufficient flexible program funds to cover training, phones, transportation assistance, printed materials, and approved investigative needs. A smaller community could start with part-time coverage or a regional investigator, but someone must own follow-up after every overdose call.
What Worked and Why
Specific decisions or design features that drove success
The peer is civilian and visibly separate from the uniform. That detail changes the first five minutes of an overdose response. The peer can clearly say that she is not a police officer and that her role is different. People who are frightened, angry, ashamed, or grieving often talk to her before they would talk to an investigator.
The investigator and peer do not compete for the same role. The investigator can focus on evidence, drug supply, and case preparation. The peer can focus on the person, family, and witnesses. When trust develops, the investigation can also work better because people see another side of the department.
The department treated internal buy-in as part of implementation. The peer role was new, and not every officer understood it at first. Daily presence, repeated explanations, and real-world case results helped the unit become part of the division rather than an external add-on.
The team built relationships before crisis moments. Treatment centers, detox providers, recovery homes, prosecutors, judges, officers, LifeNet, and fire all knew enough about the model to act when a referral or overdose call came in. Community events fostered a different kind of trust by allowing police and recovery partners to meet without a crisis in the middle.
Early outcomes and data
The city sustained the two ORT positions after the settlement-funded period ended, moving the peer recovery specialist and overdose investigator into city-funded full-time positions.
The team reports reaching thousands of people each year through overdose response, referrals, training, education, investigation, case management, and community events.
At the time of the interview, the peer recovery specialist was actively supporting about 22 peers in different stages of recovery.
The team tracks referral sources and referral outcomes, including treatment referrals, mental health referrals, peer-only support, and officer referrals.
Kicking the Stigma brings LifeNet, police, fire, recovery homes, and treatment centers together through a free community kickball event.
Lessons Learned
Make the peer role visible and protected. A civilian peer inside a police department needs clear boundaries, daily presence, and leadership support so officers know how to use the role.
Put people before equipment. Investigative tools helped get the work started, but the model depends on the peer and the investigator having time to respond, follow up, and stay connected.
Call the funder before guessing. Hot Springs learned that some useful ideas, such as conference giveaways, did not fall within the award scope. Asking first protected the program.
Return unused money the right way. ARORP treated the returned funds as a matter of stewardship rather than a failure. That helped the team avoid panic spending and keep credibility for later requests.
Build a city path before the grant ends. The strongest outcome was local funding. By the end of the award, city leaders had seen enough value to keep both positions.
Treat recovery as part of public safety. In Hot Springs, police, courts, jail programs, peers, and treatment partners work inside what the team described as a culture of restoration, not just reentry.