As the world confronted COVID-19 and its ripple effects, a quiet epidemic was growing in communities across the United States, hidden by the virus’ overwhelming impact: opioid use disorder. Between clinic closures, extreme social isolation, and the stress of living in a global health crisis, the pandemic stripped away the tools many people use to overcome their addiction.

詹姆斯·R·兰加贝尔二世（James R. Langabeer II），EDD，EDD，我们认为我们认为我们有一个非法阿片类药物使用的方法，我们认为我们已经掌握了非法阿片类药物的使用。Robert H. Graham企业家生物医学信息学和生物工程教授. “But the pandemic changed everything.”

2018年，Langabeer创建了休斯顿紧急阿片类药物参与系统（英雄），以直接联系需要康复和治疗服务的人们。英雄团队结合了休斯顿Uthealth Houston和休斯敦生物医学信息学学校McGovern医学院的资源和专业知识，从休斯顿警察局和休斯敦消防局收到了有关阿片类药物过量的数据，他们派遣了恢复专家来执行个性化的外展活动。

“当人们被陷入成瘾的循环时，他们并不常常自己寻求帮助。这就是英雄介入的地方。”兰加贝尔解释说。

每周，休斯顿消防局的护理人员和消防员阿什利·麦基（Ashley Mackie）与经过专门训练的同伴恢复教练一起旅行，拜访那些最近经历过过量的人。他们向门口挨家挨户，与幸存者谈论援助和通过英雄进入康复的机会。

“很多人都惊讶地听到了该计划，”阿什利说。“我们还看到了那些被困住并正在寻找出路的人的幸福感。”

HEROES connects people interested in recovery to medication-assisted treatment on the same day through Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center— something that other treatment programs often struggle to provide. With medications to ease cravings and withdrawal, patients also attend behavioral counseling and peer coaching to learn how to sustain long-term recovery.

过去，阿片类药物使用障碍的人经常因卫生保健系统的裂缝而陷入困境。尽管急救人员和急诊部门可以扭转过量的直接影响，而虽然确实存在恢复计划，但没有弥合两者之间的差距。这通常落在人们打击成瘾以寻找和启动恢复的个人身上，诸如长期候补名单，高昂的成本和缺乏交通工具之类的障碍通常会阻止进入。

By leveraging community partnerships and contacting overdose survivors directly, HEROES helps to fill these gaps and bring new hope to people experiencing opioid addiction. In collaboration with the Houston Recovery Center, peer recovery coaches—people who have experienced addiction firsthand and overcome it—work with HEROES to conduct outreach and answer calls around the clock, providing support and mentoring to people in the program.

休斯顿恢复中心执行董事MBA MBA说：“英雄之所以独一无二，是为了使个人从用药过量转向恢复计划的清晰途径。”“过量用药本身不足以改变某人的行为。人们需要英雄提供的治疗干预。”

The program has also benefited from private philanthropy and the collective generosity of the public. Crowdfunding campaigns have driven new support for HEROES, helping to provide everything from medication and safe housing to training for individuals in recovery who are interested in becoming peer coaches themselves.

“Nearly 90% of individuals with opioid use disorder who need treatment are not currently receiving it,” says Langabeer. “Every contribution toward HEROES—no matter the size— helps us reach more of these people and grow our program.”

Few have witnessed the pandemic’s impact on the recovery community like Ashley, who has worked alongside HEROES for nearly three years. An experienced nurse before she joined the fire department, Mackie changed careers to become a firefighter and paramedic.

她说：“我感到不安地呆在一个地方，我想用自己的技能做更多的事情。”“现在，我可以为最需要的人提供帮助。”

当大流行袭击时，阿什利（Ashley）和英雄团队不得不适应快速变化的公共卫生景观。像许多其他服务一样，英雄们转向了虚拟环境进行同行会议，以便参与者可以保留对支持康复成为可能的支持社区的访问权限。

Langabeer说：“在某些情况下，我们能够以在线格式吸引更多的人，因为他们不必担心运输。”

随着大流行的影响减弱，英雄们回到了面对面的行动，有助于打破孤立的孤立，这挑战了许多人恢复并驱使其他人开始使用有害物质的人。

“Building personal connections is critical for people on their sobriety journey,” says Langabeer. “The ability to see people, give them a hug, and share stories face to face is invaluable.”

自2018年以来，英雄们在休斯顿为5,000多人提供了服务，在Covid-19之后，更多的人继续需要帮助。

“So many people have this disease,” Langabeer says. “We are seeing more and more people publicly address mental health issues, but advocacy and support for addiction programs still have a stigma.”

对英雄的慈善承诺有助于该计划资助大多数赠款不涵盖的关键服务。得益于这种慷慨，患有阿片类药物使用障碍的人可以获得开始恢复道路并开始重建生活所需的重要资源。持续的支持可以进一步帮助扩大成瘾医学的教育机会，并确保更多的人能够获得实现长期康复所需的护理。

英雄团队正在与整个休斯顿的其他移动健康计划进一步合作。例如，Langabeer与Project Integra的本地领导者Jordan E. Lake一起担任共同研究员，该研究为使用非法静脉注射药物的阿片类药物使用障碍患者提供了移动访问HIV预防和治疗服务。

此外，英雄团队还为德克萨斯州的第一响应者创建了24小时的免费热线电话，以解决自己的物质使用障碍。

“In our peer recovery meetings, we always ask, ‘What is your why? What is your purpose?’” Langabeer says. “For HEROES, our why is the people in our programs: the people working hard to overcome addiction and turn their lives around.”