PreventOverdose — free Narcan and harm reduction training in Connecticut
Our mission is to save lives by providing free Narcan, empowering communities with harm reduction education, and advocating for policies that support overdose prevention and addiction treatment.
One dose can save a life.
This is working
Overdose deaths in the United States have fallen for three consecutive years. Among the reasons the CDC names for that decline is “widespread, data-driven distribution of naloxone” — putting the reversal medication into the hands of the people most likely to witness an overdose. That is the entire premise of this organization.
United States
Total drug overdose deaths, 2022 through 2025. The 2025 figure is provisional.
35%fewer deaths in 2025 than in 2022
View as table
| Year | Deaths |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 107,941 |
| 2023 | 105,007 |
| 2024 | 81,313 |
| 2025 | 69,973 |
Connecticut
Confirmed overdose deaths statewide. Fentanyl was involved in 78% of 2024 drug intoxication deaths.
26%fewer deaths in 2024 than in 2023
View as table
| Year | Deaths |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1,338 |
| 2024 | 990 |
Every figure on this page is published by the CDC or the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and links to its source. We publish no impact numbers of our own until we have earned them.
What we do
Free Narcan
Nasal naloxone kits at no cost, with no ID and no questions asked. Narcan reverses an opioid overdose in two to three minutes and cannot harm someone who is not overdosing.
Request a kitTraining
A free online certification course launching soon, plus in-person sessions for schools, workplaces, and community groups. Recognize an overdose, give a dose, keep someone breathing until help arrives.
See what's coveredAdvocacy
Supporting policy that expands naloxone access and treatment, and reducing the stigma that stops people from carrying it in the first place.
Read our position
Where we stand
We launched recently and we are not going to pretend otherwise. This is the whole picture, updated as it changes.
- Narcan kits distributed
- Not yet reportedAwaiting first distribution event
- Trainings delivered
- Not yet reportedCurriculum in development
- Board seats filled
- 5 of 5Board complete
- 01
Recognize
Blue or grey lips and fingertips, slow or stopped breathing, a limp body, choking or gurgling sounds, and no response when you shout their name or rub your knuckles hard on their sternum.
- 02
Call 911
Say the person is not breathing and give your exact location. Connecticut's Good Samaritan law protects you from arrest for drug possession when you call for help at an overdose.
- 03
Give Narcan
Tilt the head back, insert the nozzle into one nostril until your fingers touch the nose, and press the plunger firmly. One full device per nostril. It cannot harm someone who is not overdosing.
- 04
Rescue breathing
Tilt the chin up, pinch the nose, and give one breath every five seconds. Naloxone takes two to three minutes to work, and breathing is what keeps the brain alive until it does.
- 05
Stay
Give a second dose after two to three minutes if there is no response. Naloxone wears off before many opioids do, so the person can stop breathing again. Stay until help arrives.
Upcoming
All workshopsLaunch Party
The first official PreventOverdose event. Meet the team, learn how Narcan works, and leave knowing how to reverse an overdose.
Date to be announcedAvon, CT
Read
All writingThe Dangers of Fentanyl
Fentanyl is roughly fifty times more potent than heroin, and it now appears in counterfeit pills and powders that were never sold as opioids at all. Understanding the potency is the first step to understanding why reversal medication has to be everywhere.
1 min readThe Science Behind an Overdose
An overdose occurs when a person consumes a harmful amount of a substance, leading to serious health consequences or even death. Opioids bind to receptors in the brainstem that regulate breathing — which is what naloxone interrupts.
3 min readNarcan Distribution as a Vital Strategy in Addressing Opioid Overdoses
The opioid crisis is a major challenge affecting communities across the United States and beyond. Putting naloxone directly into the hands of the people most likely to witness an overdose is among the most direct interventions available.
4 min read
Carry it before you need it
Most overdoses are witnessed by someone who could have helped. A kit in a glovebox, a backpack, or a desk drawer is the difference between witnessing one and reversing one.