First state-regulated overdose prevention center preps for opening
Providence, RI skyline in the morning from the Seekonk River Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Rhode Island is using part of its opioid settlement money to expand harm reduction strategies and demonstrate how the center can impact drug use, crime and recovery.
Last year, nearly 90% of the more than 112,000 fatal drug overdoses involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl. But as one observer points out, “Those aren’t numbers. Those are people.”
And too many of them—someone’s friend, parent, child or sibling—overdosed in abandoned buildings, encampments, restrooms or other public locations because they had nowhere else to ingest drugs, said Dennis Bailer, the overdose prevention program director at the Rhode Island-based harm reduction and recovery support organization Project Weber/RENEW. But individuals taking opioids when they’re alone, they run the risk of dying unnecessarily.
Project Weber/RENEW is slated to open the nation’s first state-regulated overdose prevention center, or OPC later this year in Providence, Rhode Island. The 20,500-square-foot facility will be regulated, licensed and inspected by the state Department of Health. Besides ensuring that drug users don’t accidently overdose, it will offer individuals a range of medical and behavioral health services.
The center will be staffed by VICTA, a privately-owned outpatient integrated health care program, that will also help link individuals with social programs and behavioral health services and give them access to laundry services, showers and food and water.
About $2.5 million of the state’s allocated opioid settlement was designated for the OPC. The center will leverage $1.5 million for the first year, Bailer said, and the remaining $1 million to fund operations through the second year.
Bailer said the building will include a “drop-in center” where individuals can access basic health care services like HIV and hepatitis C testing as well as hygiene products, overdose reversal medication, safe drug supplies such as clean syringes and smoking supplies, among others.
On the second floor, individuals can ingest their preobtained substances under the supervision of medical professionals trained in overdose response. Individuals will be able to have their drugs tested for dangerous substances like fentanyl or xylazine using infrared spectrometry, which can identify the chemical makeup of substances. The technology is already being used at a safe injection site in New York City. Officials there told Route Fifty late last year that users have reported that drug test results have encouraged them to reduce their drug use.
Last year, Minnesota became the second state to legalize overdose prevention centers. Lawmakers approved a bill in May 2023 to authorize “safe recovery sites that offer harm reduction services and supplies, including but not limited to safe injection spaces.” The legislation also provides $14 million in one-time funding through 2029 to support the development of such sites.
At least 16 other states and cities are moving to authorize or are considering authorizing OPCs, according to a recent report from the Center for Policing Equity. Vermont lawmakers are considering a bill approved by the House that would authorize the creation of two OPCs in the state.
With the opioid crisis worsening, it's not totally surprising to see states start to show support for overdose prevention centers, also called safe injection sites or harm reduction centers, said Charlotte Resing, manager of government affairs at the Center for Policing Equity.
“They have looked at the evidence and wanted to use the [opioid settlement money] in a way that was going to save the most lives … and combat the problem from the core,” she said.
Data shows that OPCs are effective at preventing fatal overdoses, reducing public drug consumption and increasing linkage to addiction recovery and treatment services, according to the report. And rather than increasing neighborhood criminal activity, a 2023 study found that the presence of two OPCs in New York City were not associated with a significant increase in crime, disorder complaints or related calls to 311 or 911.
States’ support of the facilities signals a break from decades of anti-drug policies, initiated by the former President Richard Nixon’s war on drugs. In the meantime, at least 14 other countries allow safe drug consumption sites, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, France and others.
OPCs are a good first step in rehabilitation. They are “an easy place to engage [users] with services and treatment,” Resing said. The facilities can build trust in communities, which can help visitors feel more comfortable seeking and committing to recovery options.
State and local governments should continue considering innovative ways to address the opioid epidemic, particularly with opioid settlement funds at their disposal, she said. Overdose prevention centers can be an integral part of a holistic system to help those with drug use disorders.
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