Decades of research has shown that harm reduction strategies—such as access to safe drug use supplies, drug testing, and naloxone to reduce overdose—reduce rates of overdose among people who use drugs, while punitive measures—like criminalization and incarceration—increase the risk of overdose deaths and create a more dangerous drug supply. Naloxone is available in a nasal spray, as shown at left, that’s easy to administer and can save a life.

By investing opioid settlement dollars to develop and implement programs and services that focus on support rather than punishment, governments, advocates, and community organizations can save lives. Vital Strategies is working with partners across the country to do just that. At left, Voices of Community Activists and Leaders—Kentucky (VOCAL-KY) conducted grassroots organizing in Louisville to promote a harm reduction approach to drug use. See below for more on some of our state and municipal-level efforts.

Supplying 300 Support Harm Reduction “DIY Event Boxes” to Support Community Events for International Overdose Awareness Day. To provide community groups and government agencies around the country with “Do It Yourself” boxes to help organize Overdose Awareness Day events, Vital Strategies curated comprehensive digital and printed assets—from video and social media posts to posters, banners and buttons—to build support for harm reduction, the proven public health solution to the overdose crisis. These events generated media coverage across the country, from students highlighting prevention in North Carolina, to communities taking action in New Mexico.

Taking to the Airwaves in Milwaukee to Save African American Lives

In response to the rise of overdose fatalities among Black people in Milwaukee County, which jumped by 52% between 2020 and 2021, Vital Strategies partnered with the City of Milwaukee Office of African American Affairs to launch a radio campaign to raise awareness of and promote the use to naloxone to help save lives, with hosts like Promise, pictured here. Launched in August 2023, the campaign ran through November and reached 90% of the city’s Black population aged 35-64.

Athens Receives Global Recognition for Overdose Prevention Wins

At a March 2023 summit in London convening mayors from Vital Strategies’ global Partnership for Healthy Cities network, Athens, Greece was one of five cities recognized for making great strides in public health. The city received a $150,000 grant to further its work increasing access to naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal agent, at community-based organizations and from health care providers. In addition, Athens began researching causes of death among people who inject drugs to better understand the impact of the overdose crisis.