Allegheny overdose data to action program - allegheny county comprises over 130 municipalities in western pennsylvania

IT is pennsylvania's second largest city with 1.2 million residents. Much like the rest of the country, allegheny county has suffered from the evolution and complexity of the current overdose epidemic. The overall overdose burden for allegheny county has been calculated to 644 fatal overdose deaths in 2021. However, the burden of this epidemic is shouldered disproportionally by marginalized and historically underserved persons. Allegheny county also sits at critical pathways for larger regional drug distribution, between the US70 which is a primary east-west interstate and the US79 which links the US south with canada. Due to the prime location, allegheny county and pittsburgh have struggled under a flood of ever increasingly more powerful narcotics. In an effort to combat the epidemic and save lives, allegheny county health department (achd) utilized funds from the current OD2A grant to build out the overdose dashboard, created partnerships and collaborations with community organizations, and built critical infrastructure for naloxone distribution. Allegheny county proposes to leverage the incredible progress made during the previous 4 years. As part of this proposal allegheny county aims to support community-based organizations that are run by and serve our most vulnerable, at-risk, and marginalized communities; these include communities of color, unhoused individuals, and justice involved individuals. Our first step is to harness the experience and capability of organizations focused on street outreach and street medicine. The organizations we have chosen to partner with are highly skilled, and employ individuals with lived experience, both being unhoused and having struggled with substance use disorder and have achieved amazing success at overcoming all the barriers in serving a high-need population. These organizations comprise one pathway into services we have envisioned for our program. The second pathway to entry into care is by utilizing peer navigators and peer counselors within the criminal justice system to work with individuals who are currently incarcerated and facing release. The organization we have selected to partner with in this area has forged strong working relationships with both allegheny county jail and people who use drugs and are currently incarcerated. Through both those pathways we can direct people to the health system partners we have selected to work with who all offer a full range of medications for opioid use disorder as well as a variety of wrap-around services to serve the whole individual. Achd believes that fostering strong relationships with organizations who are deeply ingrained in their communities and offering those organizations opportunities to work hand-in-hand with other partner organizations who can pick up where one organization begins to HIT the limit of their expertise creates a strong web where fewer people fall through. Achd recognizes that part of the struggle involved in having a substance use disorder is navigating the ocean of options available, finding RE sources that fits each individual's unique needs, and oftentimes even knowing what resources are available to them. By working together as a community with a variety of community partners to help each individual holistically, we strive to improve on our already robust outcomes.