The Overdose Prevention Training Initiative

The Overdose Prevention Training Initiative designs and provides cutting-edge training and technical assistance to drug and alcohol treatment providers and other human service agencies.  Our services address assumptions about undertaking overdose prevention work while nurturing new skills, new practices, new forms of client support, and new activities. Although many of these activities are specific to drug and alcohol treatment programs, some can be adapted and used by other health and human service programs.

The Initiative provides training, resources and technical assistance to a variety of service settings, including drug and alcohol treatment, criminal justice, corrections, HIV/AIDS, community health and mental health, homeless services, and school health.

The goals of the Overdose Prevention Training Initiative are:
1.    To support drug and alcohol treatment providers to incorporate opiate overdose prevention messages, screening, and education into their work;
2.    To support drug and alcohol treatment providers to become opiate overdose prevention advocates; and
3.    To build provider capacity to prevent and respond to accidental opiate overdoses.

The services of the Initiative, originally designed for drug and alcohol treatment providers, have been used by other health and human service providers who work in a variety of settings.

 SPHERE’s overdose prevention services include:

• Trainings – Includes both half day onsite trainings and regional (and onsite) full day trainings
• Resources – Information and materials that will help providers start conversations with clients and which can be distributed to clients
• Action Planning Tools – Guidelines, worksheets and other tools to help you plan for the future, take action, and make meaningful changes
• Statewide Surveys
•  Access to internet sources of support
•  Links to research, resources, and organizations

Contact us and let us know about your needs as well as your successes in overdose prevention! Your feedback is important to us.

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Good Samaritan Legislation Seeks to Reduce Opioid Deaths in MA. More information is available in the Fact Sheet and the Information Sheet.