National Day of Deflection to be Held July 19 with 11 States Currently Expected to Participate
The leadership team of Operation 2 Save Lives (O2SL) & QRT National is pleased to announce the first-ever National “Day of Deflection,” which will highlight the impact of deflection work in communities nationwide and the importance of local and multistate partnerships.
The National Day of Deflection will be held Wednesday, July 19.
Deflection teams and sites in communities in 11 states – Ohio, Kentucky, Arizona, Florida, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Colorado, Michigan, Connecticut, West Virginia and Wisconsin – are currently expected to participate. On July 19, teams in these states will join together to conduct planned deflection efforts.
Deflection is when first responders, social workers and recovery support professionals connect individuals experiencing mental health or substance use challenges to community-based treatment and/or services as an alternative to arrest or taking no action. Each team or site participating in this “Day of Deflection” can plan whatever deflection-related event or activity they wish, such as holding community conversations or public education events, holding a “Drug Take Back,” and distributing Narcan or Fentanyl/Xylazine test strips.
Following the National Day of Deflection, O2SL & QRT National will gather data and highlights related to its identified outcomes to help communities understand the impact of local and multistate partnerships and deflection services. Among the outcomes to be tracked are the number of engagements, referrals or connections to treatment or community resources, outreach between public safety and community outreach partners, connections with new partners, and more.
The National Day of Deflection will take place during the first-ever PTACC (Police Treatment and Community Collaborative) “National Deflection Week,” July 16-23. While activities and events will be specifically planned in the participating states for July 19, deflection teams and sites will be highlighting deflection work and services throughout the week.
“Deflection efforts require collaboration and partnerships to be successful, and we are thrilled to be launching this multistate effort that will highlight the work of sites and teams nationwide,” said Daniel Meloy, O2SL & QRT National Director of Operations. “We are excited to share what will be occurring in each of the participating states on the Day of Deflection that will help build their local programs, make new community connections, and provide direct assistance to those in their communities. We look forward to increasing the visibility of the work our partners do every day to build safer communities.”
Additional information will be shared by the participating states regarding their planned activities as the National Day of Deflection nears.
Activities by various sites can be followed via hashtags, including: #PTACCDeflectionWeek2023, #Deflection, #NDD, #SavingLives!, #WorkingTogether, and #Remember the Children.
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