Community Overdose Prevention Education

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Be sure to watch the video below to learn the signs of an overdose, as well as how to respond to one and take the steps below to prevent opioid overdose.

Reducing Your Risks

If you or someone you know uses substances, they are at risk of experiencing an overdose. 

There are a number of ways to stay safe, such as:

• Test your supply by using test strips
• Avoid using alone, and if you do, call the Never Use Alone Hotline at (800) 484-3731 to have an operator stand by while you use.
• Have an overdose plan
• Carry naloxone
• Request harm reduction supplies be shipped directly to you. 

• Help & Hope Text Program: Text JOIN to 55753 to receive personalized support messages or connect with a specialist.

Naloxone and test strips are available free of charge and direct to New Yorkers to help prevent overdose deaths and save lives.
 

ORDER supplies

This initiative is funded using Opioid Settlement Fund dollars. Learn more about this initiative and our partners NY MATTERS and NEXT Distro.

Naloxone, commonly known by the brand name Narcan, is a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designed to reverse opioid overdose rapidly. It is an opioid antagonist—meaning that it binds to opioid receptors and can reverse and block the effects of other opioids, such as heroin, illicitly manufactured fentanyl and its analogues, morphine, oxycodone, and the nitazene analogues.

What is naloxone and how does it work?

• It is an opioid antagonist that attaches to opioid receptors in the brain and displaces any opioids that may be attached there. It reverses opioid overdoses and is effective even against highly potent synthetic opioids, like illicitly manufactured fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and nitazene analogues
• It is easy to administer and safe to use in any person who may have experienced an opioid overdose, including adults, adolescents, children (even infants), older adults, pregnant persons, and companion animals
• It is inert (i.e., has no effect) when opioids are not present in the body. It has no medication-medication or medication-substance interactions, except with opioids, and there are no contraindications to its use with any co-morbid medical or psychiatric conditions
• It is imperative that naloxone is in the hands of people who use substances, as they experience/witness/do the most opioid overdose reversals
• Overdose prevention and intervention education should be done with all individuals regardless of substance use disorder diagnosis, last date of use, and intended substance of use.

The next time you see someone experiencing an overdose, remember the A.N.C.H.O.R. steps: Assess the individual; Naloxone Administration; Call 911; Have additional naloxone ready to administer; Observe and perform rescue breathing as needed; and Review and monitor the individual’s condition. To use intranasal naloxone, simply Peel, Place and Press. 

How to Get Naloxone

• Check with your local pharmacy about obtaining a naloxone kit. All New York pharmacies may dispense naloxone through a standing order (non-patient specific prescription) issued by New York State DOH. Individuals who have prescription coverage through their health insurance plans may take advantage of the Naloxone Co-payment Assistance Program (N-CAP).
• The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and select CVS and Walgreens pharmacies across the City, offer FREE Overdose Rescue Kits with naloxone to any individual who requests one. Find a participating pharmacy near you.
• Participants of a naloxone rescue training session, on-line or in-person, will receive a naloxone kit and a certificate of completion. If you have an expired naloxone kit you can email [email protected] and we will send out a new kit.
   
  • Find a naloxone training 
  • Request a naloxone training 

Providers

In an effort to reduce the number of fatal overdoses due to opioids, we are partnering with Nextdistro.org to make naloxone available to all OASAS providers and OMH clinics to use and distribute to the communities they serve. Next Distro harm reduction services reduce opioid overdose death, prevent injection-related disease transmission, and improve the lives of people who use drugs.

Complete this form to request an ordering account. An account will be set up on your behalf in approximately 2 business days. If you already have an account, you may order Narcan Direct.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to [email protected].

Fentanyl & Xylazine

Fentanyl is an opioid 50-100 times more potent than heroin and morphine. Pharmaceutically manufactured fentanyl is used medically; however, fentanyl-related overdose deaths have been attributed to illicitly manufactured fentanyl and its analogues that have become increasingly common in the unregulated drug supply. It has been found mixed with other substances, which increases the risk of overdose and overdose death. Fentanyl is undetectable by sight, smell, or taste. The rise of fentanyl contributes to the rising rates of opioid overdose deaths; fentanyl co-involvement in cocaine and methamphetamine deaths are becoming more prevalent. 

Learn more about fentanyl
 

Xylazine is a non-opioid sedative commonly used for procedural sedation in veterinary medicine. Xylazine is in a class of medications called alpha-2 adrenergic agonists. Xylazine causes severe central nervous system (CNS) depression or sedation in humans and can result in skin wounds or contribute to overdose.

Learn more about xylazine
 

How to Get Test Strips

Test strips allow people/communities, health care providers and criminal justice agencies to stay informed about potential harms in the illicit drug supply. While strips cannot determine the quantity, purity, or type of fentanyl in a sample, they have demonstrated utility in detecting whether the presence of certain harmful additives like fentanyl or xylazine. Test strips have been shown to have significant utility as a public health and engagement tool for people who use drugs.

In an effort to curb the overdose epidemic in New York, we're making fentanyl and xylazine test strips available to all New Yorkers. You may request test strips from your local overdose prevention program or harm reduction organization.
 

You may also order directly from https://forms.ny.gov/s3/Harm-Reduction-Order-Form

Whether you or your loved one needs support, getting help is easy. Specialists are waiting for your call to lend an ear or give advice if you want it.

Call 24/7 HOPELINE 

Helpful Links

Never Use Alone Hotline: Call (800) 484-3731 to have an operator stand by while you use.

Help & Hope Text Program: Text JOIN to 55753 to receive personalized support messages or connect with a specialist.

DOH Office of Drug User Health

New York State Safe Locator: Find Treatment and Recovery Support.

NYS OASAS Treatment Availability Dashboard: Search for State Certified Outpatient or Bedded Programs.

Overdose Prevention for Families & Community Members

If someone you love is using substances, it is important for you to know how to respond in case they experience an overdose. You can also learn ways to support a loved one by listening to their needs. Take the training below to learn how to help a loved one in crisis.

What is naloxone and how does it work?

• It is an opioid antagonist that attaches to opioid receptors in the brain and displaces any opioids that may be attached there. It reverses opioid overdoses and is effective even against highly potent synthetic opioids, like illicitly manufactured fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and nitazene analogues.
• It is easy to administer and safe to use in any person who may have experienced an opioid overdose, including adults, adolescents, children (even infants), older adults, pregnant persons, and companion animals.
• It is inert (i.e., has no effect) when opioids are not present in the body. It has no medication-medication or medication-substance interactions, except with opioids, and there are no contraindications to its use with any co-morbid medical or psychiatric conditions.
• It is imperative that naloxone is in the hands of people who use substances, as they experience/witness/do the most opioid overdose reversals.

Overdose prevention and intervention education should be done with all individuals regardless of substance use disorder diagnosis, last date of use, or intended substance of use.
 

Opioid Overdose Prevention Basics

Providers are encouraged to learn more on preventing opioid overdoses by signing up for our self-paced 1-hour course: Overdose Prevention through a Harm Reduction Approach
A comprehensive overview on the practice of Harm Reduction strategies within the Overdose Prevention Framework exploring risk reduction, the use of non-stigmatizing language, and naloxone administration.
 

Harm Reduction Is Part of the Treatment Continuum

In this 1.5 hour Learning Thursday training we discuss how to normalize addiction through patient-centered care to improve outcomes and reduce overdose deaths.
 

Stigma

Words matter when engaging with people with substance use and substance use disorder. Take the person-centered approach when speaking to your clients and create an inviting space for an open conversation on substance use.

Overdose rates have increased significantly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Increases in overdose deaths have occurred for multifactorial reasons including increased substance use, increased lethality of the illicit substance supply due to the addition of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and its analogues, increased mental health symptoms due to social isolation, and increased episodes of using alone.

Community Overdose Prevention Education relies on implementing harm reduction strategies to help save lives. By supplying resources like naloxone kits, response training, fentanyl test strips, and confidential hotlines, we can reduce overdoses throughout New York State together. Project COPE is focusing efforts on four high-risk and underserved populations. The team has created content specifically for those working with (1) pregnant, parenting, and post-partum persons, (2) survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence, (3) members of the LBGTQ+ community, (4) and tribal communities.

Virtual or in-person overdose prevention training, overdose prevention kits, Deterra bags, and fentanyl test strips can be provided by Project COPE. Please contact us for scheduling and resources at [email protected].  
 

Funding

Funding for this material was made possible (in part) by SAMHSA. The views expressed in written video materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
 

Press Releases

• NYS OASAS Announces Launch of New Website to Promote Overdose Prevention Education