Powell County is Fourth Situation Table to Launch in Kentucky
A new Situation Table – a model that facilitates multi-agency interventions for those at risk of experiencing a crisis – launched in Powell County following a recent training program led by Operation 2 Save Lives. (Photo Courtesy Operation 2 Save Lives & QRT National) 
The training focused on equipping the attending agencies with the skills and lessons necessary to form a Situation Table. (Photo Courtesy Operation 2 Save Lives & QRT National) 
The two-day training took place from Aug.1 to Aug. 2 at the University of Kentucky Extension Office in Stanton. (Photo Courtesy Operation 2 Save Lives & QRT National) 
The training was coordinated in partnership with the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI) and the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort (KORE). (Photo Courtesy Operation 2 Save Lives & QRT National)
POWELL COUNTY – A new Situation Table – a model that facilitates multi-agency interventions for those at risk of experiencing a crisis – launched in Powell County following a recent training program led by Operation 2 Save Lives (O2SL) & QRT National.
The two-day training took place from Aug. 1-2 at the University of Kentucky Extension Office in Stanton, and was delivered by Dan Meloy and Scott Allen of O2SL & QRT National, and Licensed Clinical Social Worker James Cowser. The training was coordinated in partnership with the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI) and the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort (KORE).
Twenty-one participants attended the training, representing county leadership, local law enforcement, Fire/EMS, schools, family services, public health and medicine, and regional organizations, as well as a recovery center, homeless coalition, Ministries organization and food bank. Representatives from neighboring county Quick Response Teams were also present.
The training focused on equipping the attending agencies with the skills and lessons necessary to form a Situation Table. A Situation Table is a unique, risk-based rapid triage model that brings together multiple human service providers to address situations where individuals and/or families are facing a specific threshold of Acutely Elevated Risk. Situation Tables are comprised of representatives from public safety agencies, public health agencies, service providers and other community partners in participating communities.
Through the model, an individual or family at Acutely Elevated Risk would be referred to the Situation Table for consideration of possible intervention before a crisis occurs. The Table participants will collaborate and discuss the identified risk factors and possible services. Upon reaching a consensus, the Table would identify a team of agencies to attempt to locate the individual or family and connect them to services.
The Powell County Situation Table launched on Aug. 16 with 16 participants. Three situations were presented for consideration by the Table participants.
Situation Tables launched in Louisville, Paducah and Perry County in 2022. The Powell County Situation Table is the first of four additional Situation Tables that O2SL & QRT National will lead training and mentoring for over the next six months, in collaboration with PAARI and KORE. By early 2024, this work will bring the total number of Situation Tables in Kentucky to seven. As a result, Kentucky will have the second-most Situation Tables in the U.S., after Massachusetts.
“We are pleased to complete another successful Situation Table training in Kentucky, and look forward to continuing our work in the state over the coming months,” Allen said. “We would like to thank both PAARI and KORE for their partnership, as well as Jenell Brewer of Spark Ministries, who has been a leading champion for the Situation Table in the region.”
The HUB Situation Table model was developed in Canada by Global Network for Community Safety (Global Network), a Canadian-based firm that focuses on innovations to improve community safety and wellbeing across Canada and in the U.S. Through the O2SL & QRT National – Global Network partnership, the organizations work cross-border to collectively provide multi-agency community responses to address issues of marginalization, for pre-crisis identification and crisis interventions, while creating pathways to care and support. Their combined expertise and suite of services – based on internationally recognized best past practices – help provide communities with tailored responses to meet their current needs, and the ability to rapidly adjust to an evolving landscape of risk factors including those around substance use disorders, mental health disorders, and related social health issues.
There are over 150 Situation Tables across Canada and the U.S.
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