The evidence base is strong for the use of naloxone to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Distributing naloxone and teaching people to use it is an effective means of preventing deaths among people who misuse heroin, fentanyl, prescription opioids, and other opioids. With brief training, most adults can learn to administer life-saving naloxone. People experiencing homelessness are at particularly high risk of overdose. Programs serving them can implement effective opioid overdose interventions using naloxone.
Whether you are interested in starting a naloxone program, need to find out how to obtain naloxone to prevent overdoses, or simply want more information, the following resources may be useful to you.
SAMHSA offers a number of resources:
- Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit – 2018 contains sections for physicians, first responders, family members, and physicians, outlining the role that each can play in helping save lives by administering naloxone
- Opioid Treatment Program Directory helps people find local treatment programs by state; many of these programs offer naloxone in conjunction with other services, consistent with state laws
The following are external resources (not produced by SAMHSA):
- The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) brief, Strategies to Address the Intersection of the Opioid Crisis and Homelessness, offers insight on how to establish and fund opioid reversal programs for people experiencing homelessness
- LawAtlas Naloxone Overdose Prevention Laws offers a clickable map that provides general information about states’ naloxone laws—to be used for informational purposes rather than as legal advice—such as whether naloxone can be prescribed to family members or whether a “standing prescription” allows anyone who has completed training to obtain naloxone from a pharmacy
- The Harm Reduction Coalition’s Overdose Prevention & Naloxone Manual outlines the process of developing and managing an overdose prevention and education program, with or without a take-home naloxone component
MLive ran a feature story “Lives Saved after Drug Overdoses at Ann Arbor Homeless Shelter,” describing how the staff of one emergency shelter has saved several lives by administering naloxone