Certain groups, such as people experiencing houselessness, have experienced disproportionate increases in overdose fatalities in Denver. To better reach as many people in Denver as possible, DDPHE is providing funding to organizations and individuals who are leaders in these communities to share information and resources within their networks. This funding is available through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Overdose Data to Action (OD2A): Denver grant.
The Contractor, in partnership with DDPHE and other OD2A contractors, will prevent fatal and nonfatal overdoses and reduce overdose disparities among people experiencing houselessness in Denver, who remain disproportionately impacted by overdoses. Other OD2A contractors have been selected to address overdose disparities among other populations, such as Indigenous/Native Americans, Spanish speaking individuals, and other Hispanic/Latinx communities. This will be done by expanding linkage to and retention in care, data/information sharing, harm-reduction, partnership, and stigma-reduction activities in Denver. These activities are further outlined below in Section C. Scope of Work.
The Contractor will work with DDPHE to describe the communities reached through their efforts, barriers to implementation, additional needs, and recommendations for improvement. Furthermore, the Contractor will collect data, measure outcomes, and report both to DDPHE to determine program effectiveness ongoingly. In turn, DDPHE will provide Contractor with naloxone, training materials, technical assistance, and fentanyl test strips.
