Impact of Providence’s Overdose Prevention Center on Drug Users

A nonprofit is opening a facility where people can use drugs under medical supervision. It also offers connections to drug treatment

More than 400 people died of a drug overdose in Rhode Island in 2023.
More than 400 people died of a drug overdose in Rhode Island in 2023.
Jeremy Bernfeld / The Public’s Radio
Share
More than 400 people died of a drug overdose in Rhode Island in 2023.
More than 400 people died of a drug overdose in Rhode Island in 2023.
Jeremy Bernfeld / The Public’s Radio
Impact of Providence’s Overdose Prevention Center on Drug Users
Copy

Jason first started using fentanyl a few years ago, when the pandemic threw his life off balance. By now, he’s used to hiding his drug use.

“You duck into, like, an alley, or behind a car or somewhere where no one’s going to see you,” he said.

The Public’s Radio is only using Jason’s first name because he uses illegal drugs. He knows that using alone, in tucked-away places, makes it even riskier to use a drug as dangerous as fentanyl.

“When no one sees you, no one’s going to find you if you overdose,” he said. “And, you know, I’ve lost a few friends, and no one’s found them.”

That’s the problem a new facility is hoping to solve.

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

In June, the New Bedford City Council reduced the mayor’s proposed budget by $10.2 million
Attorney General Neronha announces new funds as part of $720 million national deal; total state recovery now tops $315 million to support treatment, prevention, and recovery efforts
2025 Point-in-Time count shows 2.8% decline in overall homelessness, yet unsheltered and chronically homeless numbers rise amid fewer shelter beds and delayed housing solutions
Sgt. Joseph Hanley pleaded guilty to an assault charge stemming from a 2020 incident in which he was filmed kicking and punching a handcuffed man
William Cepeda and Elio Villafranca Sextet explore the deep roots of Puerto Rican, Cuban, and New Orleans music in a one-night performance merging heritage and improvisation