"Addiction begins in isolation and ends in reconnection,” according to a recent statement Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy as he announced the Great American Recovery plan.

We have finally seen a decline in overdose deaths, and this is no time to stop now.

What are the most successful strategies and why do they work? Join us on Monday, March 9 from 12:30pm-2pm PT to examine strategies that bridge the chasm of isolation and help to reconnect with people whose lives have been deeply damaged by addiction. Building trust and deepening connection is a hard-won struggle, and there have been many decades of experience to inform our work going forward. 

Join us in conversation with Dr. Ricky Bluthenthal, PhD, who has spent decades learning firsthand how to build understanding and respond to reducing the risk of drug use. We will also hear the personal story of someone with a history of addiction and how their life was saved by compassionate services. Our conversation will be robust, and participants will have an opportunity to ask our speakers questions on how to help people recover and stay alive.

This webinar is part of our new series, Building a Movement of Knowledge, Action and Empathy to Prevent Overdose Deaths. Our goal is to increase knowledge of overdose prevention among a broad audience including community members, law enforcement, parents, first responders, educators, teachers, clergy, service providers, businesses, librarians, and more. Help us build an informed, actionable, and empathetic movement by making sure members of your community are registered for this webinar and ongoing series.

This Web Forum is sponsored by the National Overdose Prevention Network, and produced by Dialogue4Health, both programs of PHI Center for Health Leadership & Impact. Support for this webinar series was made possible through funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

Navigating addiction treatment can be confusing, discouraging, and frustrating for individuals seeking help and for the families and communities who support them. Although effective treatments exist, including life-saving medications like buprenorphine (Suboxone), many people never receive care, struggle to stay engaged, or encounter stigma and misinformation that block their path to recovery. This workshop will offer a deeper dive into the concepts presented during the NOPN webinar, The Path to Recovery: Understanding the Ups and Downs of Addiction Treatment. During the workshop, participants will discuss how stigma and misinformation create barriers to care in their community and what providers, advocates, and community members can do to expand access, reduce harm, and create more compassionate pathways to recovery. Participants will leave with practical insights and next steps they can take to support individuals and families affected by substance use disorder.

It is frustrating for people with a substance use disorder and their families when attempts to seek treatment are met with challenges, or when treatment appears to not work.  It can also be exasperating when someone appears to be in treatment, then falls out of treatment or when this pattern repeats. Even though treatment for opioid use disorder is highly effective, for these and other reasons, it is significantly underused. Medications like buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone, can help people manage their cravings and significantly reduce their risk of dying. However, only a small percentage of people receive treatment, either because they can’t access care, don’t stay in care or don’t believe they need it.

Join us for a deeper look into the realities of addiction treatment and steps your community can take to help reduce stigma and expand paths toward recovery.  First, we will hear the personal story of someone who navigated many of the challenges of treatment and now is in long term recovery. Their compelling lived experience will paint a realistic picture of the complex pathway to recovery, and the reality many people face in cycling in and out of treatment for this chronic, relapsing brain disease. Then we will hear from Dr. Brian Hurley, an addiction physician and the Medical Director of the Bureau of Substance Abuse Prevention Control for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Dr. Hurley will discuss how treatment works, how care is delivered, and what effective, evidence-based treatment looks like in practice. This webinar will explore the treatment process, where it’s delivered, and what individuals can expect when seeking help. Finally, we will discuss how misinformation creates barriers to care, and how providers, advocates, and community members can help reduce stigma, broaden awareness, and reach individuals and families who need treatment most. Participants will leave with practical insights and tools to support more compassionate, informed, and accessible pathways to recovery.

Unlike other chronic diseases, substance use disorders (SUD) are often seen as a moral failing. This stigma deeply impacts everyone including individuals, families, and communities. It also presents major barriers to ensure access to life-saving overdose prevention services and treatment. On December 11, 2024 from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm PT, we heard from Leslie Alfaro, the National Stigma Initiative Program Manager at Shatterproof. Leslie the real-world impact of stigma through data findings from Shatterproof’s recent nationwide survey on addiction stigma, the largest survey on attitudes towards SUD. Participants also learned practical steps they can take to help identify and combat stigma in their organizations and communities. This Web Forum is sponsored by the National Overdose Prevention Network, a program of PHI Center for Health Leadership & Impact and produced by Dialogue4Health.

What does it take to center health equity in your local response to the overdose crisis? This interactive session explores key questions, challenges and solutions to organize your thinking around health equity.

This interactive session explored key questions, challenges, and solutions to organize our thinking around centering health equity and building strategic partnerships within our local response to the overdose crisis.

Treatment of substance use disorder is often hindered by stigma and reluctance to treat SUD as the chronic illness that it is. Join us to hear how communities are addressing stigma and promoting access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT).