• Share educational resources. Spread awareness about the common signs of opioid use disorder so that people can identify opioid misuse early and prevent it from interfering with their work, health, and home life.
• Provide treatment referrals. Share information about local health care providers that can prescribe FDA-approved medications for opioid use disorder. Start by visiting your community’s page (click on the “Find Local Resources” link in our website menu) or looking at a national treatment locator.
• Offer logistical and emotional support. Reach out to people with opioid use disorder and their families and ask how you can support them during recovery. Remove barriers to treatment by offering free transportation to doctors’ appointments, flexible work hours, and assistance with food, childcare, and other essential necessities.

Learn more about medications for opioid use disorder.

• Support a loved one with their recovery. Support your loved one’s interest in going to and staying in treatment for the long term. Learn how to talk to a loved one about their opioid use and understand options for treatment with medicines for opioid used disorder.
• Change the way you talk about addiction. Use person-first language (for example, say “person with opioid use disorder” instead of “addict”) to put people before their diagnosis and choose words that lessen the blame and shame.
• Create a stigma-free environment in your organization. Make your workplace, faith-based organization, or other community setting a judgment-free zone that supports people as they find and stay in treatment. Learn how your organization can help people rebuild their lives, transition back to work, and get support from their workplace.

Learn more about reducing stigma.

• Carry naloxone to help save a life. Keep naloxone nearby if you know someone who uses opioids. Anyone can save a life by giving naloxone to someone who is overdosing from a prescription opioid pain medicine, heroin, or a drug containing fentanyl. Organizations can also store naloxone with their first aid supplies. Go to your community’s page (click on “Find Local Resources” in the website menu) or visit Next Naloxone to learn how to get naloxone in your state.
• Change the way you talk about addiction. Attend an online training to learn how to identify and respond to an overdose, get comfortable giving naloxone, and understand its potential effects.
• Create a stigma-free environment in your organization. Look up Good Samaritan laws in your state, which offer legal protection for overdose victims or bystanders who call first responders to the scene. Make sure people in your community are aware of these laws so that they do not hesitate to call 911 in the event of an overdose.

View the laws for each state participating in the HEALing Communities Study:

• Ohio
• Kentucky
• Massachusetts
• New York

Learn more about naloxone.