New liaison program helps people navigate barriers to drug treatment, recovery

After years of struggling with addiction in Kitsap County, Michelle Lamb knows first-hand how hard it can be to get clean when you don’t know where to turn.

A simple ride home, quick access to treatment, or having someone to sit with you through the process, she says, can be the catalyst for people with a substance use disorder to finally break the cycle. Lamb, now five years sober, is head of the new program at the West Sound Treatment Center aiming to be that spark.

The five-month-old Supportive Housing and Behavioral Liaison program seeks to connect people released from jail or living on the streets with a substance use disorder to people with lived-experience who can support them through their recovery process.

“To be able to help heal this community that I used to run the streets in, that's a big deal for me,” Lamb said. “All of us are different, but you understand the feeling, you understand the pain, that feeling of depression, of not knowing what to do or where to turn.”

The liaison works to get clients access to substance use treatment, housing, transportation, Medicare, job applications, IDs, phones and any other services they may need as they reintegrate into the community.