By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

PICKENS — Pickens County will be the first county in South Carolina to launch a program aimed at providing opioid addicts with hope and pathways to treatment.

During a special called meeting Monday night, Pickens County Council passed a resolution endorsing the Community Outreach by Paramedic Education (COPE) program.

The program will see community paramedics and peer support specialists from Behavioral Health Services of Pickens County visit residents who have recently received Narcan, which reverses opioid overdoses.

“If someone is given Narcan or treated for an overdose that’s opioid-connected, then within 72 hours of their receiving Narcan or going to the ER, a community paramedic and a peer counselor from

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