Frequently Asked Questions
How does DART find out when someone needs help or has an overdose?
People who use any substance — alcohol, opioids, and more — may contact DART to ask for help. Friends and family can also get in touch with us if they have concerns about a loved one’s substance use. Our partners in health care and law enforcement also make referrals to us when they come in contact with people struggling with substance use and in cases when someone has overdosed.
What happens after a referral is made?
Team members typically make contact within 12-48 hours. They offer free short- and long-term support and referral to resources. Resources include tools such as Narcan and safe-use planning or short and long term recovery coaching support. People also can be directed to treatment or recovery support services.
Does DART keep medical records? Are they private?
DART only collects information that is provided to us by individuals and families.
DART does collect information about the interactions we have with participants in order to fulfill the data needs of our funders, to help track participant’s goals, and for program evaluation purposes. We have data privacy agreements with partners like hospitals, emergency medical services, and police. Hospitals, EMS, and other health care providers cannot access our data, although they do share data with us. Data shared and accessed by DART’s police partners cannot be used in their law enforcement role.
Although we are providing services that relate to people’s health, we are not a health care provider. The information we gather allows us to keep track of trends in substance use in the area, which helps us respond to the community’s needs in the best ways possible.
What role do police play in DART?
Police officers’ work often brings them in contact with people who use substances, and that makes them an important part of DART. But their role on the team is not to make arrests. It’s to help connect people to the help they need. Information gathered by DART is not used for law enforcement purposes. Our outreach teams look slightly different in each community depending on their culture and resources. But they all share the same philosophy of harm reduction and meeting people where they are at.
What is a Community Responder? What type of support would I get from the CR's?
Community Responders are multidisciplinary crisis response professionals trained to address non-emergency public health and safety needs within the community. They provide outreach and education to individuals, including those who use injection drugs, in a judgment-free and compassionate manner. This support includes counseling, providing supplies to promote safety, overdose prevention, naloxone distribution, testing and treatment for health issues, and referrals to addiction treatment and recovery support when requested.
Community Responders, often with lived experience, promote recovery and work with participants to remove barriers and obstacles to recovery, serving as personal guides and mentors for people seeking or already in recovery from addiction. They embrace a harm reduction philosophy, ensuring their approach is supportive and non-judgmental.
What’s the cost for DART services?
There’s no cost to individuals for DART services. We don’t bill your insurance company either. All of our work is funded by grants.
DHHS Northampton, MA 01060 | (413) 587-1214 | health-dept@northamptonma.gov | www.northamptonma.gov | Accessibility Statement