Resources

• LIVE.LONG.DC., the District’s Plan to Reduce Opioid Use, Misuse, and Related Deaths, outlines the strategies that the District is implementing to tackle the opioid epidemic.
• Fentanyl Facts: Even in small doses, it can be deadly.
• Interactive, Ward-specific map that provides information about opioid use disorder/ substance use disorder-related resources and services available in the District.   
• The Access HelpLine at 1(888)7WE-HELP or 1-888-793-4357 is the easiest way to get connected to services provided by the Department of Behavioral Health and its certified behavioral health care providers. This 24-hour, seven-day-a-week telephone line is staffed by behavioral health professionals who can refer a caller to immediate help or ongoing care. 
• Assessment and Referral sites, which includes the Department of Behavioral  Assessment and Referral Center (ARC) or one of the community-based substance use disorder providers, are available to help enroll in substance use disorder services. 
• Facts on Xylazine: Emerging Drug Misuse and Mixed Use

• Department of Behavioral Health’s Drug-Free Youth website resources on drug-free living in the District including facts about commonly used drugs in the District, local laws on drug use, and local drug prevention and treatment resources. Download materials for two campaigns:  
  • The Blunt Truth (Marijuana)
  •  More Harmful Than You Think
•  Prevention Centers are designed to strengthen the community’s capacity to prevent and curtail the use of drugs at the local level.  Each center focuses on building collaborations and partnership within the wards and promoting healthy drug-free living. 
  
  The following are Prevention resources that focus on opioids.
  • Prevention Center Resources-COMING SOON
  • Faith-based resources- COMING SOON

• DC Health’s Opioid Awareness Campaign brings attention to the dangers and risks of opioid misuse and abuse. 

Be Ready Campaign

• As part of the District’s LiveLongDC campaign, Text to Live, individuals can find naloxone (also known as NARCAN®) at no cost, without a prescription and no identification necessary at a pharmacy or other distribution location near them. Naloxone reverses overdoses from opioids, which are now in many different types of street drugs in the District. The map shows where to get naloxone.
• Find information about where syringe services programs (SSPs) are located and their schedules.
• Access a free, self-paced online naloxone training module, “Opioid Overdose Prevention & Naloxone Education Community Course.”
• Training requests by a certified naloxone trainer for groups of five or larger can be made by emailing mailto:[email protected] 
• Order free education materials on how to use naloxone, how to use fentanyl test strips, and DC’s Good Samaritan Laws.  
• Watch a short video about naloxone and where to get it. 
• Watch a 90-second video about how to save a life with naloxone.  Watch it in Spanish. 
• Watch a video about the Be Ready Social Influencer Campaign.

Overdose Prevention Sites

• Watch the presentation hosted by DBH: “Safe Consumption in the U.S.: Lessons learned from New York, Philadelphia and Providence”

• The Access HelpLine at 1(888)7WE-HELP or 1-888-793-4357 is the easiest way to get connected to services provided by the Department of Behavioral Health and its certified behavioral health care providers. This 24-hour, seven-day-a-week telephone line is staffed by behavioral health professionals who can refer a caller to immediate help or ongoing care.   
• Assessment and Referral sites, which includes the Department of Behavioral Health Assessment and Referral Center (ARC) or one of the community-based substance use disorder providers, are available to help enroll in substance use disorder services.   
• MyRidesDC supports residents with opioid use disorder (OUD) by providing up to three free roundtrip rides to treatment and recovery in the District. Learn more and sign up here.
• The Community Response Team is a 24-7 multidisciplinary direct service team that supports adults who are experiencing emotional, psychiatric, or substance use vulnerabilities to promote service engagement and overall behavioral health and wellness.  
• The Department of Behavioral Health Mobile Van visits hotspots throughout the District and provides assessment and referral services and buprenorphine initiation. 

• Opioid, Stimulant, and Other Substance Use Disorders in Pregnant and Postpartum Patients: Prepared by the MedStar Health National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare and sponsored by the State Opioid Response grant through the DC Department of Behavioral Health, the following documents comprise a screening and resource guide for healthcare providers, patients, and caregivers in the District of Columbia. The purpose of this guide is to provide evidence-based best practices and resources to aid in screening and treating opioid, stimulant, and other substance use disorders in pregnant and postpartum patients.

• Provider Training
• Patient Materials 
• Care for the Caregiver

• MyRecovery\DC Campaign features the stories of men and women who have faced addiction. Their stories highlight their treatment and recovery journeys. The site provides access to Certified Peer Specialist/services.   
•  Oxford Houses are self-run, self-supported recovery houses. To learn more, go to their website. House openings are listed here.    
•  The Peer Specialist Certification Program will be available soon.

Order free education materials on how to use naloxone, how to use fentanyl test strips, DC’s Good Samaritan Law, and MyRecovery website

We have two campaigns, Be Ready and MyRecoveryDC available to you.

•  Be Ready is a harm reduction campaign to promote access to naloxone (also known as NARCAN®) which reverses an overdose from opioids, including fentanyl, which is now in many different types of street drugs in the District.
•  MyRecoveryDC uses real stories of DC peers to encourage opioid users to consider treatment, even if they’ve tried before. The MyRecoveryDC website has video profiles of peers, information about treatment and recovery services available, and a button to request a peer to contact you.