Seattle’s New Approach for Treating Addiction — Gift Cards

ANYTHING CAN HELP –

June 6, 2024 – Michael Crowley was among the first cohort of a new program being offered in Plymouth Housing buildings that ties small financial rewards to reducing, or eliminating, substance use. It’s called “contingency management,” an inscrutably dry name for trying the carrot instead of the stick to help people fight their addictions.

Seattle City Hall’s interest comes as King County sees a record number of overdose deaths, the majority of which involve both fentanyl and methamphetamine. More than 1,330 people died of overdoses in 2023. So far in 2024, nearly 500 people have died from drugs and alcohol, and while some experts say a peak is likely coming, it might not be this year.

Seattle’s program is in its infancy. Washington is one of two states in the country allowed by public insurance to try these programs and Seattle is now among a handful of places in Washington running a pilot program.

Contingency management has been tried elsewhere – with success – but its deployment in Plymouth Housing is the first time it’s left the clinical setting for a residential one.

“We’re taking what we know about behavior and putting it into practice,” she said.