OUR STORY
At the heart of our organization is a mission to save lives and ensure equitable access to harm reduction supplies and education. As a national nonprofit, we are dedicated to addressing the devastating impact of the opioid crisis, especially for those most likely to witness or experience an overdose. Our goal is to provide support in three key areas:overdose response, wound care, and education, while also influencing policy to create lasting change.
We serve individuals facing some of the greatest challenges in today's opioid epidemic—those in medication-assisted treatment centers, unhoused individuals suffering from opioid use disorder, and people struggling with chronic pain. Through targeted initiatives, we strive to meet the unique needs of these communities, working to ensure they have the resources and knowledge necessary for survival and recovery.
OUR JOURNEY
In The Beginning
August 2022Samay, Cole, and Saif came together with the shared mission of distributing Narcan to communities around USF and Tampa, founding Prevent Overdose Inc.
We Secure Narcan Distribution Designation
January 2023After months of paperwork, Prevent Overdose Inc. was officially designated as a Narcan-distributing organization through a funding mechanism from the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF).
Our First Distribution Event
February 12, 2023Samay, Cole, and Saif provided individuals with information on how to recognize and respond to an overdose while distributing Narcan to churchgoers at New Life Church in Tampa, Florida.
We Distribute $50,000 in Narcan and Provide Training
December 2023At the turn of the new year, Prevent Overdose Inc. distributed over $50,000 worth of Narcan, reversed more than 10 overdoses, and provided over 500 dental hygiene, body hygiene, and wound care kits to churches, homeless shelters, encampments, and recovery clinics. Additionally, the organization facilitated overdose recognition and response training for homeless shelter staff and USF students.
We Expand Across Multiple Counties
March 2024Friends outside our community began reaching out to express interest in starting their own chapters of Prevent Overdose Inc. in their respective counties. We quickly expanded to Alachua, Pinellas, Leon, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Citrus, St. Johns, and even Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
We Broaden Efforts to Improve Distribution and Reporting
May 2024Soon, Prevent Overdose Inc. was managing hundreds of Narcan kits each month across multiple counties while also tracking overdose reversals for our monthly DCF reports. Samay, Cole, and Saif realized that Prevent Overdose Inc. needed more sustainable solutions to address these logistical challenges. As a result, a founding software team was recruited to tackle these issues.
Developing Innovative Technology for Narcan Distribution
September 2024Our founding team of software engineers developed our website, overdose reporting system, and Narcan request system while also planning our overdose map to visualize all the data. We began to realize that this technology could be beneficial to other Narcan-distributing organizations across the nation.