Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • A Different Kind of Grief

    Philly HEALs is a free bereavement support program for people who have lost a loved one to a fatal overdose. The program offers grief counseling and peer support groups for families, teens and children, allowing them a safe space to talk about their experiences and find community among others who can relate.

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  • Harm Reduction: Is it saving lives, or helping enable addicts?

    The Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition (VHRC) uses harm reduction strategies to help those suffering from addiction by providing free supplies like overdose reversal spray, safe smoking kits and clean syringes, as well as connection to education and treatment options when people are ready. Those who access services through a harm reduction program are five times more likely to enter treatment programs. Last year alone, the VHRC distributed more than 20,000 doses of Narcan which they know reversed at least 2,000 overdoses.

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  • As Indigenous Youth, We Know Peer Overdose Education Is Vital

    Talk Overdose provides peer-delivered education to youth in seventh to twelfth grade about overdose prevention. The group of teens also provides naloxone training, hosts guest speakers and interactive workshops that teach empathetic listening skills. Talk Overdose was formed in 2021 and has since reached over 1,500 youth across the country and has stated to offer Indigenous culture workshops, as a connection to culture has shown to have a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing.

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  • Peer Support work serves as an innovative and vital part of mental health recovery

    Agencies like the SHARE Center are beginning to hire peer support specialists, who are individuals who have lived experience of recovery from mental health conditions and substance use disorders. Peer support specialists provide non-clinical, strengths-based support and build trusting relationships with those in need of care. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for peer support specialists has grown exponentially and reports show that working with a peer support specialist can improve health outcomes and quality of life among other benefits.

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  • Once-Resistant Rural Court Officials Begin to Embrace Medications to Treat Addiction

    Amidst the ever-present opioid crisis, there has been a shift among judges, prosecutors and law enforcement agencies beginning to let go of the stigma associated with medication for opioid use disorder. As of 2022, more than 90% of drug courts in communities with high opioid mortality rates have reported that they allow medications to be used to treat addiction. Some areas have also seen the emergence of drug recovery courts that specialize in helping people facing addiction get treatment, rather than jail time.

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  • In Texas, a rare program offers hope for some of the most vulnerable women and babies

    Casa Mía provides housing and support services for pregnant women and new mothers struggling with addiction. The program is run out of an old house and is currently home to nine women. Staff at Casa Mía provide mental health care, recovery resources and work to destigmatize substance abuse to prevent mothers from losing their children to the foster care system.

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  • Making It Easier For Kids To Get Help For Addiction, And Prevent Overdoses

    Students at Arlington Public Schools are being trained to carry and administer Narcan to help reduce the rising number of opioid overdose deaths, specifically among young people. Programs like this and access to treatment like Suboxone help make it easier for youth to find recovery and prevent drug overdoses.

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  • "Stable Recovery" Trains People in Rehab to Work with Horses

    The Stable Recovery program provides housing and recovery support for people suffering from addiction, as well as job training to prepare participants to work in the equine industry. The program offers a sense of therapeutic community to those in recovery, as well as newly trained workers to address the labor shortage in the equine industry.

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  • When Seattle social services fall short, libraries and transit lend a hand

    The Seattle Public Library system partners with local organizations like the Downtown Emergency Service Center to provide library patrons with clothes and food and referrals to services like domestic violence help and housing or shelter recommendations. The library also has four “social service librarians” who are equipped to help patrons and are allowed to carry and administer Narcan. Over the last five months, the downtown branch has provided emergency supplies (like hand warmers, food, and water) to 420 people and has made 280 referrals to other resources.

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  • A downtown Flint vending machine is helping combat opioid overdose deaths, stigma

    Vending machines provided with the help of organizations like the Genesee Health System and Harm Reduction Michigan dispense fentanyl testing strips and Narcan kits as a form of harm reduction to combat the opioid epidemic and destigmatize safe drug use. When it debuted earlier this year, the machine distributed more than 2,100 test strips and 904 Narcan kits in six weeks. There are currently 52 machines placed across the state.

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