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.

Officials tap unexpected $500,000 surplus in current year budget to cover cost
Judiciary Committee approves narrowed version of assault weapons bill targeting AR-15s and AK-47s; both gun-rights advocates and some gun safety groups express frustration as Senate prepares for floor vote Friday
Rhode Island joins 16 other states in a legal challenge to Trump-era wind energy restrictions, arguing the federal permitting freeze threatens coastal projects and the state’s clean energy goals