Myrtle Beach hires specialists for Opioid Response Team

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - Two new people are tackling the fight against opioids in Myrtle Beach.

The city hired Jude Bauccio and Robert Meaney to join the city’s Opioid Response Team as specialists.

They will work to help people struggling with opioid use and work on how to reduce addiction in the city.

Bauccio and Meaney work in the community with the Opioid Program Coordinator, the Myrtle Beach Fire Department, Myrtle Beach Police Department and other area resources.

In 2014, Bauccio visited Myrtle Beach as a snowbird and decided to stay. She acquired her Certified Peer Support Specialist credential soon after and has been helping people in the community with substance use disorders since.

“My hope is to provide brief interventions and treatment referral for those seeking to make changes in their lives, or provide the knowledge to the person who isn’t quite ready to change to know the Opioid Response Team will be ready to serve when they are,” Baccio said.

Meaney graduated from SUNY College in New Paltz and moved to Myrtle beach in 2000.

He worked as a Certified Peer Support Specialist at Shoreline Behavioral Health Services. He primarily worked with clients who suffer from severe opioid use disorder while there.

“After many years of struggling with several different substance use disorders, I am grateful daily for the life I have learned to live. I seek to share my hope with others in my community that every single person can, indeed, improve their lives,” said Meaney. “In my previous role, as well as my new role here on the Opioid Response Team, I intend to remain focused on treating those experiencing problematic drug use with empathy, compassion, honesty and integrity. I am excited to be a part of this team and believe strongly that we can make a real difference with our work.”

If you know someone who is struggling call the response team at 843-918-1601.

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