Aimed at people who use illegal drugs
Focus on counties with limited services
Harm Reduction Ohio needs your help. We are applying for an Ohio Department of Health grant to deliver Narcan to those most at risk of overdose death: people who use illegal drugs. If HRO gets the grant, we will need volunteers (and a few paid part-time workers) to reach these wonderful, unfairly stigmatized human beings in communities across Ohio.
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Harm Reduction Ohio wants to deliver free Narcan to Ohio’s hardest-to-reach, most vulnerable citizens, especially active drug users. Our target populations include:
* people who use drugs in counties without Project DAWN sites that provide free Narcan. The 27 counties without Project DAWN are shown in white on the map.
* people who use cocaine. Cocaine-fentanyl mixes now cause more overdose deaths in Ohio than heroin-fentanyl but few cocaine users carry naloxone.
* African Americans who use drugs, especially black males who now have the highest overdose death rate of any demographic group in Ohio.
Are you comfortable with and trusted by active drug users? We need you, especially in small towns and rural areas where stigma is high and services few.
To its credit, the Ohio Department of Health is trying to jumpstart efforts to have trusted laypersons and peers distribute Narcan to active users and to do so in the community, not just at pharmacies and health department offices. “Community-based naloxone distribution” — i.e., using laypersons to distribute Narcan — is by far the most effective way to use naloxone to reduce overdose deaths.
If HRO gets the grant, we want to get Narcan where it’s most needed and quickly, starting this summer.
If we don’t do it, who will? If you don’t do it, who will? If you can help get in your community, please register via our volunteer page: https://