CONNECT

Finding Resources

ASSIST

Providing Support

THRIVE

Exceeding Expectations

*"[iCONNECT] will have immediate local impact on the ways in which peer support specialists, individuals in recovery from substance use, and their families are able to connect with the specific resources needed to sustain recovery"

Holly Matto, PhD, MSW
Associate Professor, Social Work
Core Faculty, Center for Adaptive Systems of Brain-Body Interactions
George Mason University

*Source: Mason researchers connect with community members to develop an app for individuals recovering from opioid use

OUR VISION

Making the Human Connection: Real Impact for Real Individuals

The value of iCONNECT is providing available community resources in near real-time to individuals with SUD and their social network. These critical moments equate to meaningful connections that can reduce clinic readmissions, decrease overdose instances, and serve as a tool to coordinate healthcare among county, clinical, and emergency workers alike. When individuals are under the influence or their families are under stress, they are just one click away from a meaningful resource and human connection. Resource information and availability is displayed directly through the app, so users do not need to figure out the right search terms or syntax, thus reducing inquiry time. The large-scale impact of iCONNECT is that it unlocks the value of existing local resources by efficiently (i) connecting help to individuals on their recovery journey, (ii) coordinating the ecosystem of community resources, and (iii) highlighting the closest available resources. In short, iCONNECT saves resources, saves time, and saves lives.

Our ultimate goal is to demonstrate that iCONNECT can be successfully deployed in Fairfax Country, the state of Virginia, and then the nation. Our community partners at the Fairfax Falls Church Community Service Board and Chris Atwood Foundation are our mentors and advisors. Together, with the guidance of our Principal Investigator and collaborating faculty members, we are confident that iCONNECT has great potential to enact real social good.

In collaboration with our partners at the REAN Foundation, we put together a short video to summarize Our Vision, including some background on Our Team and an example use case for Our App: