Table 3:

Supporting quotes for commonly proposed actions among focus groups

Proposed action	Supporting quote
Establish drug court	We need to reform the judicial system. There’s people going to jail that do not belong in jail. I think drug court. We don’t have a drug court like in [central part of Virginia]… I watched a video they had posted on their website, and it seemed like it helped when they just have one court… versus throwing people in jail. Drug court is a big one and that’s a policy issue.
Allocate sufficient human and financial resources for treatment of individuals with substance use disorder and their families	There’s not enough people to help with those programs. We had two or three residents and we were impacting tremendously, but we only have so many beds … And that’s the issue. It’s space. … have recovery [policies or programs to address the opioid issue] in every primary care doctor’s office. We see that very often an entire family needs to be treated. The problem may well be an individual there, but the caregivers need training, education, and they need their own support, perhaps, too … There isn’t anything here [for families]. Yeah, I think the focus needs to be put on the people surrounding that addict, not just the addict.
Drug avoidance education in schools and jails	I think the proactive part is going to be the education and prevention of the youth. The reactive is, you know, when you take care of the people that are already addicted. I think it [prevention education] should be mandatory to put in schools. Like have, you know, different people who come from recovery … once a month or twice a month. Somebody, just different kids from all walks of life, to come in and have presentations and gather. You’ve got them incarcerated, you’ve got their attention, and they’re different people when they’re locked up. I think we need to focus more on reaching this population before they get discharged back into the community.
Establish long-term rehabilitation program in the area that involves families	I mean, these people need to be in rehab, not jails. And maybe we need a rehab center here that’s government funded for people that can’t afford to pay for their kids or loved ones to be in there, to keep them out of jail. That was a weekend trip basically to be able to go see him. If we had those facilities in this area, it would be easier on the family members to be able to see them while they’re in there, you know, and hopefully see the progress.
Promote hope in schools	This may sound like an old school… in the school system, teaching children the ability to dream beyond what they know. Realizing ‘there’s something out there besides what I know.