Project F.O.R.T. Director Scott Duff honored by ADAMH Board
FAIRFIELD COUNTY − A Fairfield County man is receiving honors for his work helping people with substance use abuse disorder in the community.
The Fairfield County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health (ADAMH) Board chose three winners to receive 2023 Friend of ADAMH Awards. Individuals, agencies, groups and organizations are selected for these awards for embodying the Fairfield County ADAMH Board mission and vision.
One of those winners is Scott Duff, Director of Project F.O.R.T., which stands for Fairfield County Overdose Response Team.
"It's very humbling to be honest with you," said Duff. "I'm not sure I'm deserving of it because there's so many people that have contributed to the success of Project F.O.R.T. But it is an honor to be recognized by my peers and by some of the folks that I work with on the daily."
"The thing I think I'm probably best at is talking, communicating, having conversations, meeting people," said Duff.
"You have to meet people where the rubber meets the road," said Duff. "I've always felt that my job was in the field,"
Duff gave an example of what working with people in the field could look like.
"Say, for instance, the Lancaster Police Department pulls over a guy and they find a little bit of drug paraphernalia, or a bit of narcotics and the guy is like, you know what, I would like to talk to somebody about going to treatment," said Duff. "Boom, there's my entry. So, they call me and often times I'll meet right where they're at, come right out to the scene and talk to them about treatment."
He said that he is only able to do this by making connections in the community. The Fairfield County ADAMH Board, the Lancaster Police Department, Ohio Guidestone and more were examples of groups him and Project F.O.R.T. have had to build relationships with.
Project F.O.R.T.'s Emergency Team offers assistance through the following methods:
A pre-arrest diversion quick response team model
Meetings with survivors who unintentionally overdose within 24-72 hours
Detox, treatment, and recovery resources OUTSIDE of the criminal justice system
Support for families along with various support systems for those in need
On-Call treatment clinicians
Identification of barriers to treatment along with solutions
Consultation at 740-901-1598 or fort@fairfieldcountyohio.gov
Duff said that his line of work can be tough because there are bound to be people that cannot be helped.
"It's not always successful, we don't save everybody, we don't get everyone treatment, and that can be difficult," said Duff.
Despite this, Duff said that the success stories make it all worthwhile. He said that people will approach him and thank him for his help.
"The flip side of that is, I cannot tell you how many people have come to me at community events, at grocery stores, whatever, and said, you know what, you helped my wife or you helped me, and I'm clean eight months, or two and a half years," said Duff. "Those stories are just so impactful because that tells me our efforts are working. Not just my efforts, but our efforts.
Duff ended by saying that Project F.O.R.T. is still improving and that he is proud of the work him and his colleagues have done together.
"We're still learning, we're still growing, we still have big ideas," said Duff.
"We're just super proud of what we're doing and we're doing that because of our partnerships and those continue to grow," said Duff. "We're just super honored. Everybody contributes to Project F.O.R.T., it's not just a Scott Duff thing, everybody is contributing. "
The 2023 Friend of ADAMH Awards will be presented at Fairfield County ADAMH Board Annual Dinner: Creating a Ripple Effect at 6:30 p.m. March 28 at Cheers Chalet, 1211 Coonpath Road N.W.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Project F.O.R.T. Director Scott Duff honored by ADAMH Board
