CLARK COUNTY (KTNV) — A new program aims to break the cycle of addiction and incarceration in Clark County.
We're getting a look at the preliminary results, which officials say look promising.
The medication-assisted treatment, or MAT program, began in February of 2024 at the Clark County Detention Center.
It starts in the jail, offering struggling inmates access to substance use treatments. But it doesn't stop there; after they're released from custody, they're connected to the nonprofit Vegas Stronger, which offers continued treatment and wraparound services like mental health support.
Vegas Stronger and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's Detention Services Division just released initial results from the program, showing how inmates have fared on their recovery journeys post-release.
They found that since the program began, 74 individuals have been referred through CCDC, with 51 clients admitted. They've undergone 2,475 days of treatment with an average length of stay of 48.5 days. 88% of program graduates remain sober after 6 months, and 77% after 12 months.
Last year, I interviewed Fred Haas, who is now an assistant sheriff with LVMPD, but at the time was a deputy chief with Metro's Detention Services Division, helping oversee the new MAT program.
He was incredibly optimistic about the budding initiative and its potential to change lives. He said what sets this MAT program apart from others is that follow-up piece, which ensures the support isn't limited to the walls of the detention center.
"We can't solve all these problems by ourself as a police department, can't solve them as detention. I can't solve them by making arrests," Haas said. "We're never going to fix the problem of drug abuse, mental illness and homelessness by doing those same things over and over again. So where we decided to be different is with that warm hand-off to a community provider that can continue that care."
“By fostering trust inside the detention center before release, and ensuring a warm hand-off into treatment, we’re seeing transformational results,” said David Marlon, co-founder and CEO of Vegas Stronger. “This is about more than medication; it’s about rebuilding lives, reducing crime, and creating safer communities.”
Vegas Stronger and LVMPD said they're committed to expanding the program and looking at other key measurements of success, like recidivism rates, employment outcomes and housing stability.
I'll continue to follow this to see how effective this program is in the long-term.
