Overdose, Treatment, and Healing in Garland County

Despite more treatment options than ever before, overdose rates remain high in Garland County, and families are left navigating limited detox availability, housing challenges, stigma, and gaps in awareness about existing resources. Recognizing this reality, community leaders, treatment providers, peer recovery specialists, and justice partners gathered for a community discussion to network and strategize for better outcomes.

When asked about the biggest gaps in the system, Nicole Cherry, Business Development Coordinator at SOZO Addiction Recovery Center, pointed to the lack of a local medical detox unit. Currently, individuals in Garland County who need detox services must travel to Malvern or Little Rock, creating barriers to access and making it harder to maintain continuity of care.

"With as many treatment centers as there are here," Cherry said, "it is very hard to get that individual to detox out of town or to get them to return for that continuity of care.” Cherry shared that SOZO is working to open a medical detox in Garland County within the next year.

Janice Reeves, Clinical Director at Adult & Teen Challenge of Arkansas, highlighted the lack of housing options:

“Another gap that I would say would be a lack of transitional housing for women. There there’s more options available for for men, where we don’t have that as much for women, and especially for women and children.”

Haley Rudd, Peer Recovery Specialist with Garland County Specialty Courts, emphasized that education is another critical missing piece in addressing addiction. She explained that many people in active addiction don’t realize the protections of the Good Samaritan law or that Narcan is widely accessible at no cost. Rudd highlighted that her office and other local providers keep Narcan readily available and that it can be obtained easily throughout the community—an important tool that can save lives when people know it exists and feel empowered to use it.

Rudd also reflected on the link between addiction and justice involvement:

“For me, in my lived experience, I never would have became justice involved if I wouldn’t have been using substances.”

Sarah Stapelton, Court Coordinator for the Smart Justice Initiative, added that multiple unmet needs often overlap:

“You also have some that have underlying mental health issues - that’s not being addressed...employment, access to mental or medical care...all those different care areas and needs not being met - that kind of leads to the injustice.”

Cherry explained that SOZO combines evidence-based practices with a faith-based approach, offering a treatment model that addresses the whole person—mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. She noted that many of the men who enter the program arrive at their lowest point, often feeling spiritually bankrupt, broken, and without support. For these individuals, coping skills alone are not enough. What they need, she emphasized, is not just another tool or strategy but a deeper sense of renewal and hope—something that integrates both professional treatment and spiritual restoration.

Reeves described how Adult & Teen Challenge has expanded its model to serve both men and women, adding a women’s center alongside its existing programs. The organization now integrates clinical care into its faith-based framework, with licensed professionals such as psychiatrists and counselors providing support. While treatment is grounded in Christian principles, participants also benefit from evidence-based therapeutic services, creating a more comprehensive and holistic approach to recovery.

Panelists agreed that stigma remains one of the greatest barriers to seeking help. Rudd emphasized the importance of leading by example, noting, “One of the best ways that I found to help reduce stigma is just to be a model.”

She explained that showing up consistently and living out recovery in daily life provides a powerful example for the peers she serves and helps break down misconceptions about addiction.

Cherry added that visibility is key:

“We get a front row seat of seeing the transformation. We get to see the change happening daily. And a lot of people don’t get to see that… So just being kind of loud about it, living out loud, living recovery out loud, and letting our clients be a part of that because that gives them the opportunity to see, hey, you know what? Like, I can leave this place and go to another place and take this with me. That’s when we start to break down the walls of shame.”

Reeves drew a comparison to physical health conditions, reminding the audience that “this is part of our body that we have to treat just like any other illness.”

From gaps in detox and housing to stigma and awareness, the challenges remain significant. Yet, the voices gathered in Garland County showed that with education, collaboration, treatment, and lived examples of recovery, hope remains the community’s strongest medicine.

Reeves reinforced this point by stressing that long-term success depends on strong community partnerships, noting, “Collaboration with other organizations and treatment providers and community partners is really the cornerstone of how we are able to be successful in our program.”