Grantee: Downtown Emergency Service Center
Timeframe: July 2024 – June 2027 | Amount: $600,000
- Year 1: July 2024 – June 2025 | Amount: $200,000
- Year 2: July 2025 – June 2026 | Amount: $200,000
- Year 3: July 2026 – June 2027 | Amount: $200,000
The opioid epidemic continues to severely impact communities nationwide, including Seattle/King County. In 2023, King County EMS responded to 8,390 opioid overdoses, 1,113 of which were fatal—a 47% increase from the previous year. People experiencing homelessness made up 20% of these cases, reflecting their heightened vulnerability due to isolation and limited access to consistent treatment.
Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) serves individuals who are unhoused, in emergency shelters, or living in permanent supportive housing. Many clients face complex barriers to care, including behavioral health conditions, chronic medical issues, and disabilities. It’s estimated that 15–20% regularly use opioids and meet the criteria for opioid use disorder.
PHPDA funding supports DESC’s Buprenorphine Induction Specialist (RN) on its opioid treatment team to provide daily support during clients’ transition from fentanyl to buprenorphine and increase successful completion of inductions.
The Buprenorphine Induction Specialist role exceeded initial projections during its pilot and scale-up phase and has since stabilized at a sustainable capacity while maintaining strong clinical outcomes. This role expands access to buprenorphine induction by reducing or avoiding withdrawal symptoms, improving engagement in treatment and likelihood of sustained recovery.
DESC developed an “injectable-only low dose crossover” protocol that has improved treatment uptake and significantly reduced discomfort during induction, helping prevent early discontinuation. Client response has been strong, with demand exceeding capacity. A 2025 analysis shows a greater than 65 percent two-month retention rate in treatment, compared to national averages of about 20 percent.
The Buprenorphine Induction Specialist remains a key component of DESC’s opioid treatment programming, reducing barriers to medication for opioid use disorder and providing intensive one-on-one support during a high-risk transition period.
Since receiving PHPDA funding, the program has become more integrated within DESC’s broader opioid response efforts, particularly through the ORCA (Opioid Recovery and Care Access) Center, a 24/7 post-overdose clinic offering walk-in services seven days per week. The Induction Specialist operates within this model, strengthening engagement at critical moments of readiness and improving continuity between post-overdose response and ongoing treatment.
The program’s core goals, client eligibility criteria, and data collection methods remain consistent. The project continues to focus on reducing barriers to treatment for individuals experiencing homelessness and complex behavioral health conditions while strengthening coordination across teams
ABOUT OUR GRANTEE
Downtown Emergency Service Center
“Our vision is a community where no person is abandoned, ignored, or experiencing homelessness.
DESC helps people with the complex needs of homelessness, substance use disorders, and serious mental illness achieve their highest potential for health and well-being through comprehensive services, treatment, and housing.”
