RI's first overdose prevention site has a location. Here's what to know.
PROVIDENCE – Project Weber/RENEW and VICTA have secured a location to launch the country’s first state-regulated overdose prevention center, also known as a safe consumption site, at 45 Willard Ave., next to the Rhode Island Hospital campus.
The organizations announced Tuesday that the center will operate in a 20,500-square-foot space for staff to deliver medical, clinical, and social support services to try and prevent overdose deaths and connect people struggling with substance use disorder with treatment.
The center will open this summer.
Advocates said the "strategic" location next to Rhode Island Hospital creates “opportunities for seamless medical integration.” Project Weber/RENEW will relocate its Providence site at 640 Broad St. to Willard Avenue.
"In 2022, Rhode Island lost 434 lives to the overdose epidemic. This overdose prevention center is a pivotal element in the state's comprehensive efforts to combat this crisis," Colleen Daley Ndoye, executive director of Project Weber/RENEW, said in a statement. "It's imperative to take decisive action to save lives.”
How the overdose prevention center will operate
People will be able to safely use illicit substances under the supervision of trained professionals at the center, according to the announcement. Center staff will help test for fentanyl or other substances, help prevent overdoses and administer treatment to reverse an overdose.
Overdose prevention centers, also known as “safe consumption sites” or “harm reduction centers,” provide a range of services all in one location, and will even have essentials like food, water and hygiene products. Narcan/naxolone will also be on hand to reverse overdoses.
Case-management services, HIV and hepatitis C testing and connection to care, housing support, peer recovery coaching, and support groups, are among the other resources that will be available, according to the advocates. People will also have access to laundry facilities and showers.
`Treatment on demand’
VICTA, which provides medicated assisted treatment, substance abuse, and mental health treatments, will have medical providers, nurses, and counselors on site to provide access to services as soon as an individual is ready for treatment.
“By offering ‘treatment on demand,' people using the overdose prevention center can act on their key moment of readiness to initiate change,” the advocates said.
“We know that motivation can be fleeting, and that recovery is not linear; we are committed to helping people stay as healthy as possible through every stage in their process,” VICTA’s Chief Operating Officer Lisa Peterson said.
Research shows that people who use overdose prevention centers are 30% more likely to access substance use treatment.
More: Do safe injection sites increase crime rates? What a Brown University study found.
Department of Health oversight
The state Department of Health will regulate the overdose prevention center, with ongoing evaluations conducted by The People, Place & Health Collective at the Brown University’s School of Public Health to measure the program’s individual and community outcomes.
The center will operate on weekdays, with staff from Project Weber/RENEW and VICTA to provide behavioral health and medical services. The staff will include people with lived experience with substance use and recovery, including peer recovery specialists, counselors, and medical professionals to prescribe medication for substance-use disorders.
Project Weber/RENEW Deputy Director Ashley Perry and Overdose Prevention Program Director Dennis Bailer, both with lived experience, will be the overall co-directors of the space.
Neighborhood outreach
Project Weber/RENEW and VICTA are reaching out to residents and stakeholders regarding the project, and will be canvassing residents and businesses in the area.
Both organizations are committed to working closely with state, local and community leaders before and during the center’s operation, they said. The Providence City Council has shown support of the project and will formally vote on the location on February 1, the announcement said.
Rhode Island first in the nation.
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.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI's safe injection site will be located next to Rhode Island Hospital
