What's New: Nation's First State-Regulated Overdose Prevention Center Secures Prime Location
Overdose prevention centers (OPCs), are spaces where community members can connect with the care and resources they need to make healthier, safer choices in their own lives. OPCs prevent drug overdoses, reduce the spread of infectious diseases, and partner with communities to strengthen neighborhoods, improve health outcomes, and save lives.
Project Weber/RENEW already operates two drop-in centers in Rhode Island. At these spaces, located in Providence and Pawtucket, anyone is welcome to stop by, grab a snack or water, rest, talk with peer staff with lived experience, and pick up harm reduction supplies. In addition, individuals can access referrals for medical care, treatment and detox, connect with a peer recovery specialist, access recovery housing navigation, attend a support group, or get tested for HIV or hepatitis C, among many other services.
The overdose prevention center we will open in 2024 will offer these same services and add one critical component: trained staff to monitor for the earliest signs of overdose, ready to respond immediately to prevent overdose deaths and save lives.
We will have trained medical and peer staff on hand to provide safe supplies and monitor individuals who are at risk for overdose, as well as give people a space in which to feel comfortable. The evidence shows that this allows people to engage in other support services, access healthcare, case management services, and enter recovery. We will partner VICTA, a substance use treatment provider, to provide treatment services on site so if and when an individual is ready they can easily access the care they need. People who use overdose prevention centers are 30% more likely to enroll in substance use treatment services. The center will be licensed and regulated by the RI Department of Health, ensuring the highest standards of care and safety.
We know firsthand too many of our friends, loved ones, and neighbors are dying from overdose. We're committed to working with all of our community partners to ensure this center will set an example for others to follow and will save more lives. If a person is not alive, they cannot make choices that will positively impact their lives.
Overdose prevention centers (also known as harm reduction centers or safe consumption sites) are places with a comprehensive array of resources for people who use substances/drugs to receive services. They are spaces where trained staff monitors for the earliest signs of overdose and respond to prevent overdose deaths and they effectively save lives. The services are comprehensive and include overdose prevention and connections to treatment and recovery services, peer support, medical care, basic needs, and social services.
We are hoping for the overdose prevention center to be open in 2024. We are working as hard as we can to get it open soon to help bring this life-saving intervention to Rhode Island. At the same time, we are working to ensure we are doing due diligence with renovations, regulations and licensure, oversight, staffing, and operational considerations.
In 2022, 434 Rhode Islanders lost their lives due to overdose. Increasingly, overdoses are impacting Black and Hispanic/Latino/a/x communities. Overdoses are also affecting people using a range of substances, including stimulants such as cocaine, as well as pressed pills. Many overdoses happen when people are alone. When people are alone, no one can call 911 or administer Narcan, a drug that can reverse an overdose. We need more ways to stop these deadly overdoses–and overdose prevention centers are an evidence-based solution. This is especially needed given how toxic the drug supply is now. People who use drugs and in recovery who have a recurrence (relapse) may not be able to survive. Nearly 40 years of research from around the world demonstrates that overdose prevention centers increase access to substance use treatment by 30% and are an effective way to save lives.
Rhode Island lawmakers passed a state law in 2021 to establish overdose prevention centers: the first such law in the country. The overdose prevention center will be regulated, licensed, and inspected by the RI Department of Health, similar to other medical facilities. In 2023, a state law was passed to extend the pilot program to March 2026. We are also working in close communication with officials at all levels of government.
In other sites around the world, research shows that crime does not increase in the area around overdose prevention centers. One benefit of being close to bus lines is that people will be able to leave the site easily and access our Providence drop-in center. Our services will not be 24/7 upon opening. We will start with limited daytime hours to test out our protocols and operations and make adjustments as needed. Our team will collaborate closely with the local community to maintain open communication and ensure that the area surrounding the site remains litter-free. By providing a safe space where people who use drugs can stay while trained staff monitor for signs of overdose, OPCs help reduce public drug use and syringe litter.
Project Weber/RENEW and clinical partner VICTA have secured a location for the country’s first state-sanctioned and regulated overdose prevention center at 45 Willard Avenue next to the Rhode Island Hospital Campus in Providence.
There are no taxpayer dollars going to fund the overdose prevention center. The majority of funds are coming from opioid settlement dollars, which were negotiated by RI's attorney general from pharmaceutical companies as reparations for harm caused by prescription opioids. Additional funding is coming from private foundations, grants, and individual donors.
