Courageous Hearts Veterans Family Fun Day

Courageous Hearts and OUD Anti-Stigma Project 

1. We are facing a serious health challenge in Delaware. Our communities are still struggling with the impact of opioid use disorder.

· In Delaware, 537 people died of an overdose in 2022 – the vast majority from opioids.

· Substance use and opioid-related deaths have continued to increase – during and after the pandemic. White Delawareans and New Castle County residents still have the highest overdose rates in the state, but overdose deaths among Black Delawareans and people living downstate are growing at an unprecedented rate.

· Overdose deaths among African American/Black Delaware residents rose from 22% to 29% between 2021 and 2022.

· Even before the pandemic, many people in need of care, particularly people of color, were not receiving treatment.

2. The Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health invited interested community organizations to apply for grants to conduct opioid use disorder education and awareness campaigns, focusing on underserved populations.

3. As a participating organization, our goal is to reduce stigma around substance use disorder and the use of medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder.

4. Too often, the shame and stigma surrounding opioid use disorder – and even medication-assisted treatment – discourages people from getting the help they need.

· People need to understand that opioid use disorder is not a choice – it’s a chronic brain disease. And we have effective treatments available that save lives.

5. We also want to promote awareness and access to treatment and recovery services, prevent substance use disorder among young people and adults, and promote training and access to Narcan.

6. Courageous Hearts is an organization that provides equine-assisted psychotherapy and personal development to individuals, families, and veterans across Delaware.

• While we provide services to the entire community, we have made an ongoing commitment to support our veteran community. On Veterans Day, Saturday, November 11, we will sponsor a Military Family Fun Day.
• The event will bring together over 100 veterans, service members and their families for a day of family games, music, farm tours, food, and visits with horses and goats along with a variety of take-home resources for families.
• We’re really grateful to our service members and veterans for their service and sacrifice.
• We hope this will be a great day for military families and – for those in need or willing to play a leadership role – a confidential opportunity to access Narcan kits and training to help save veteran lives and to learn how to have non-stigmatizing conversations with other veterans about OUD.
• We’re proud to partner with veteran service organizations and the military community at large to reduce OUD stigma and encourage veterans who may be struggling with OUD to seek treatment.