Throughout the pandemic, ODR’s Overdose Education + Naloxone Distribution program (OEND) helped prevent deaths from opioid overdose through training and targeted community distribution of naloxone. Naloxone is an easy to administer, fact-acting medication that reverses the effects of opioids. In partnership with the LA Community Health Project, ODR brought more than 100,000 doses of naloxone to the reentry population, people experiencing homelessness, and other vulnerable communities across the county. To date, community members have used naloxone to reverse more than 5,000 overdoses. 

ODR also administers the world’s largest jail-based overdose prevention program in partnership with the LA County Sheriff’s Department. Exits from the jails feature educational videos and free naloxone vending machines for people to take on their way back to their communities. The LASD partnership also makes naloxone available in common areas of the jail so anyone—guards or people incarcerated there—can access and use the medication to save a life.