City Council OKs overdose prevention center. What's next?
PROVIDENCE – Hailing it as a “game changer,” the City Council on Thursday unanimously approved the establishment of the nation’s first state-regulated overdose prevention center on Willard Avenue, near the Rhode Island Hospital campus.
Project Weber/RENEW and VICTA earlier this week unveiled 45 Willard Ave. as the intended site of the center, where people will be able to use pre-obtained illicit drugs under professional oversight in the hope that staff can nudge them toward treatment and needed services. Staff will be on hand to provide peer support, test for fentanyl and other adulterants and administer overdose reversal medication, if needed.
“I think Providence is leading the way. I think the state is leading the way in harm reduction,” Councilman John Goncalves said.
The center, which will provide access to wrap-around services, is expected to open this summer.
"I am grateful to Weber/RENEW for the vision, advocacy and hard work they have put into making Rhode Island’s first harm reduction center a reality,” said Council President Rachel Miller. “A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to tour the facility – there is no doubt in my mind that the center will save lives and prioritize the well-being of city residents.”
Rhode Island first in the nation
The state Department of Health will regulate the overdose prevention center, also known as a "harm-reduction center” or safe-consumption site, with The People, Place & Health Collective at the Brown University’s School of Public Health closely monitoring the program’s individual and community outcomes.
More: What's the status of RI's landmark 'safe-injection sites' program? Outreach is underway
In 2021, Rhode Island became the first state in the nation to authorize centers for people to consume illegal drugs under supervision, based on legislation by state Sen. Josh Miller, D-Cranston, and state Rep. John G. “Jay” Edwards, D-Portsmouth, Tiverton. State lawmakers last year extended the pilot initiative to sunset in March 2026 to provide time for the center to get up and running.
The center is funded by opioid settlement money administered by the Executive Office of Health & Human Services, which allotted the program $3.25 million in fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
In 2022, 436 Rhode Islanders died from accidental drug overdoses.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: First-in-nation safe injection site gets PVD Council approval
