Rhode Island Opens First State-Sanctioned Overdose Prevention Center in the Nation

The new facility in Providence, operated by the nonprofit Project Weber/RENEW, provides a place for people to use drugs under medical supervision

The overdose prevention center operated by the recovery and harm-reduction services nonprofit Project Weber/RENEW will operate out of a building in South Providence.
The overdose prevention center operated by the recovery and harm-reduction services nonprofit Project Weber/RENEW will operate out of a building in South Providence.
Nina Sparling / The Public’s Radio
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The overdose prevention center operated by the recovery and harm-reduction services nonprofit Project Weber/RENEW will operate out of a building in South Providence.
The overdose prevention center operated by the recovery and harm-reduction services nonprofit Project Weber/RENEW will operate out of a building in South Providence.
Nina Sparling / The Public’s Radio
Rhode Island Opens First State-Sanctioned Overdose Prevention Center in the Nation
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Providence is now home to the country’s first state-sanctioned facility for people to use illegal drugs under medical supervision. The nonprofit Project Weber/RENEW on Tuesday held a ribbon-cutting to celebrate a years-long effort to bring an overdose prevention center to the Ocean State.

Advocates hope that the new facility will lead to fewer overdose-related deaths in Rhode Island, and more people getting connected with drug treatment. Last year, more than 400 people in Rhode Island died of an overdose.

“It’s just a place to keep people safe, prevent deaths, and connect people to services,” said Dennis Bailer, the overdose prevention program director at the organization.

Overdose prevention centers (OPCs) go by many names: harm-reduction centers, supervised-injection sites, and more, but the overarching approach remains the same. These spaces, which operate under medical supervision, provide a way for people who use drugs to avoid doing so alone, with the goal of preventing accidental overdose.

This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.

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