Reducing Drug Harm
The drug overdose epidemic nationally and locally continues to be a public health crisis. The number of people who died of a drug overdose in Dane County from 2019-21 was 51% higher than the number of people who died from 2015-17 (284 to 429). Opioid-involved deaths continue to drive drug overdose death trends.
Each month from February through June, we're offering free virtual trainings on how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose. Read full details and register.
Drug Use is a Systemic Problem, Not an Individual One
Substance use disorder is a chronic medical condition. The belief that people can stop using drugs at anytime greatly impacts how systems respond to people who use drugs.
Long-standing systemic racism and bias has created unequal access to resources for communities. From 2019-2021 the drug overdose death rate among Black people was more than 4 times the rate among white people.
We Have the Tools to Help Save Lives
Dane County has many proven tools to prevent death and injury due to drug use. Evolving and expanding harm reduction services are critical to supporting the well-being of people who use drugs.
Some of the ways we work to prevent death and injury due to drug use include:
- Increasing access to naloxone and Narcan® and teaching people how to use it.
- Providing safer use supplies, including fentanyl test strips, through our Syringe Services Program.
- Issuing Overdose Spike Alerts to warn our community when there is an increased risk of overdoses.
- Offering free harm reduction supplies and training to agencies and groups. Contact us for more details!
- Supporting mental health and substance use recovery efforts through the Dane County Prevention Alliance and the Recovery Coalition of Dane County.
We’re also working to understand how overdoses are happening locally and to help make systemic changes by:
- Coordinating the Dane County Overdose Fatality Review. Our annual report, Drug Overdose Deaths in Dane County, includes data, recommendations, and action steps to prevent future drug overdose deaths.
- Working to eliminate disparities with the African American Opioid Coalition so the Black community isn’t overburdened by overdose deaths.
Shaping national efforts to integrate health equity into overdose prevention and response.
