Resource Library
Toolkits, guides, and other resources vetted by experts in overdose prevention.
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COPN Accelerator 4.0 Program: Key Considerations for Centering Equity in Overdose Prevention
This handout provides the key considerations for centering equity in overdose prevention based on Dr. Lauren Powell's presentation to the COPN Accelerator 4.0 Coalitions.
Sustainability Tools and Tips
In this video, Co-Director of the Center for Health Leadership and Impact, Karya Lustig presents sustainability tools and tips for coalitions to implement into their work to strengthen their internal and external efforts to maximize their impact.
Addressing Opioid Use Disorder in Emergency Departments: Expert Panel Findings
The National Council for Mental Wellbeing hosted a technical experts’ panel (TEP) to identify best and promising practices to engage individuals surviving overdose and assist individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) presenting in emergency department (ED) settings. This report identifies key policy and practice recommendations informed by existing research, case examples and findings from the TEP.
Training and Educating Public Safety to Prevent Overdose Among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Communities
To better understand the training and education needs of public safety personnel related to preventing overdose in BIPOC communities, and to inform the development of future trainings, the National Council, with the support of the CDC, conducted an environmental scan that included a literature review and a series of key informant interviews and roundtables. The key findings from these activities are explained in this guide.
Overdose Prevention and Response in Community Corrections: An Environmental Scan
The National Council for Mental Wellbeing, with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted an environmental scan to determine how overdose prevention and response efforts are currently implemented in community corrections. This effort included a literature review, 19 key informant interviews and a roundtable discussion with a diverse group of individuals with experience in community corrections, overdose prevention or harm reduction.
Supporting Telehealth and Technology-assisted Services for People Who Use Drugs: A Resource Guide
This resource guide created by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing (National Council) aims to help harm reduction organizations, SUD treatment providers and other organizations that serve PWUD overcome challenges associated with implementing telehealth and technology-assisted services and leverage these advances to help improve the health and wellness of PWUD.
Getting Candid: Framing the Conversation Around Youth Substance Use Prevention
The National Council for Mental Wellbeing (National Council) created this guide with the purpose of equipping providers with substance use prevention messaging and share guidance on how to effectively deploy this messaging with middle and high school age youth.
Fostering Resilience and Recovery: A Change Package
To better address trauma in primary care, Kaiser Permanente and the National Council for Mental Wellbeing (National Council) launched the Trauma-Informed Care Primary Care: Fostering Resilience and Recovery initiative to develop, test, disseminate and scale a field-informed Change Package. Implementing trauma-informed approaches within primary care marks a fundamental shift in care delivery that supports improved utilization of services, improved patient outcomes, increased staff satisfaction and healthier work environments.
Partnership Mapping Tool Addendum
Strong partnerships are essential to the success of any coalition. Use this addendum tool in addition to the Partnership Mapping Tool to assess your coalition infrastructure, identify critical community collaborators and power brokers, and further how these partners can support coalitions’ overdose prevention strategies.
Public Awareness Campaigns
The CDC generates a number of educational campaigns that you can utilize in your community. Use this webpage to see the variety of awareness campaigns and materials available.
Opioid Overdose Basics
The National Harm Reduction Coalition’s training guide on opioid overdose basics provides an overview of opioid overdose basics, what is an overdose?, understanding naloxone, overdose risks & prevention, recognizing opioid overdose, responding to opioid overdose, and overdose FAQs.
What is Substance Disorder?
The American Psychiatric Association’s website provides a succinct overview of substance use disorder (SUD), how its treated, the 13 priniciples of treatment, how to support a family member or friend, and related conditions.
Self-Care Strategies Worksheet
This worksheet was developed by Cypress Resilience Project in partnership with PHI Center for Health Leadership and Impact for the Spring 2022 COPN Convening, which focused on toxic stress and burnout for individuals working in substance use and overdose prevention.
Faith in Harm Reduction
Faith in Harm Reduction is a non-profit organization that fosters opportunities for the co-creation of spiritual community and relationship building in partnership with people who use drugs and other harm reduction community leaders. Through the hosting of events and a growing national network of Faith in Harm Reduction leaders who provide peer to peer support, information sharing, and spiritual care for the harm reduction movement, Faith in Harm Reduction strengthens spiritual resources for harm reduction and intersectional healing and justice movements.
End Overdose
End Overdose is a nonprofit organization based in California. They provide education materials, as well as a way to order free naloxone and fentanyl test strips on college campuses.
Stimulant Safety: Getting Amped Up to Reduce Harms When Using Stimulants
This resource from NASTAD offers education on the reasons people take stimulants, including the potential positive aspects to use and potential risks of use; how to minimize harm, reduce stigma around stimulants, and support peoples’ positive experiences.
Talking about Health Equity
Among the general public, the term equity isn’t widely understood. FrameWorks researchers have found that most people associate the term with financial topics, as in home equity or equity in a business. For communicators, this means that if you’re using the term, it’s vital to pair it with a clear explanation. Use this resource to help you with framing your message around equity.
Explaining the Social Determinants of Health
Public health experts use the term “social determinants of health” to refer to the idea that non-medical factors such as geography, income, and education have a significant effect on health. However, communications researchers have found that this term doesn’t make sense to the average person. What’s more, the phrase can even leave mistaken impressions that the “social determinants of health” has something to do with socialism or a belief that people lack free will. Use this resource to understand and help others understand the social determinants of health.
National Harm Reduction Technical Assistance Center
The National Harm Reduction Technical Assistance Center (NHRTAC) provides free help to anyone in the country providing (or planning to provide) harm reduction services to their community. This may include syringe services programs, health departments, programs providing treatment for substance use disorder, as well as prevention and recovery programs. Visit the NHRTAC to request free assistance for your program via their request form.
State-Level Guides For Community Advocates On Opioid Settlements
Christine Minhee, founder of opioidsettlementtracker.com and Vital Strategies created this encyclopedic set of guides to equip community advocates with expert-level analyses of each state’s opioid settlement spending approach. Each guide contains, key takeaways, total funds and allocations, decision-making process and mechanism, engaging in the process, tracking funds and accountability, and available resources.