Since 2015, a group of state officials, organizers and community members have been meeting to address Rhode Island’s overdose crisis — which kills over one Rhode Islander a day, on average.
They make up the Governor’s Overdose Task Force, a body charged with developing a plan to address overdoses, gaining community and expert input and addressing emergent issues, according to Cathy Schultz, the group’s director.
Currently, there are nine work groups — each focusing on a particular area, such as prevention, harm reduction, racial equity or treatment — within the task force, Schultz said. The group meets monthly.
Schultz added that the task force’s leadership aims to center the voices of those who have lived experience with overdose. “It’s a trusted structure,” she said. “We’re able to make sure that from the leadership, we include the community voice.”
In September, the task force released a semi-annual report that outlined the group’s current priorities and initiatives alongside data on overdoses in the state.
According to the report, 2023 saw the first reduction in overdose deaths since 2019, with 404 total deaths. Rates of overdose among non-Hispanic Black Rhode Islanders and Hispanic or Latino Rhode Islanders also decreased, Schultz added.
“We not only saw a decrease in fatal overdoses, but we saw a decrease in our disproportionately impacted communities,” Schultz said. If “we weren’t seeing that rate go down in our non-Hispanic Black communities as well as our Hispanic communities, then I wouldn’t feel confident that we’re doing our due diligence.”
Racial equity is one of the task force’s “cross-cutting pillars” and “should be woven in all of the work that we do,” Schultz added.
Monica Tavares, co-chair of the task force’s racial equity work group, emphasized this commitment in an email to The Herald.
“This involves the intentional and ongoing practice of reforming policies, practices, systems and structures to prioritize measurable changes in the lives of people of color,” Tavares wrote.
The semi-annual report details that the state will increase overdose-related racial equity funding to $500,000 in the 2025 fiscal year, compared to a total of $300,000 for the prior two years.
The treatment work group uses survey data to drive racial equity initiatives, the group’s co-chair Linda Mahoney said. This included conducting a survey with the racial equity work group that focused on barriers to care and treatment, allowing providers to identify gaps in their approach, she said.
For Mahoney, “building trust” and “finding champions” in the community help decrease the fear and discrimination often faced by those struggling with substance abuse. This helps them seek treatment, she said.
The task force also hopes to increase coordination among states in the broader New England region, with plans to initiate a New England Regional Overdose Task Force by December 2024, according to the report.
Shultz explained that nearby states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine generally see similar overdose trends as Rhode Island, making a regional task force helpful for developing strategies. The Regional Task Force will likely have its first meeting in the first quarter of 2025, she added.
Supporting the opening of Project Weber/RENEW’s Overdose Prevention Center is another focus of the task force in the coming months. OPC will be the first state-authorized overdose prevention center in the nation, providing services like HIV testing and case management, The Herald previously reported.
Shultz added that another priority is ensuring those struggling with substance abuse have structures in place to help them recover.
“It is very, very important that we are looking at the entire continuum of care,” she said. “Recovery is never linear, so you might have to go all the way back around again.”
