SSDP Launches “HOPE” on International Harm Reduction Day

In celebration of International Harm Reduction Day, SSDP has launched HOPE (Harm Reduction & Overdose Prevention Education), our app-based educational initiative. 

This new mobile application is designed to put life-saving opioid overdose recognition and response training—along with access to essential harm reduction supplies like naloxone—directly into the hands of students, young people, and concerned community members across the nation.

International Harm Reduction Day, observed annually on May 7th, highlights the importance of evidence-based, compassionate approaches to drug use that prioritize saving lives and protecting health. 

SSDP’s HOPE app-based initiative embodies this spirit by empowering individuals with the knowledge and tools to effectively identify and respond to an opioid overdose emergency, as well as to prevent opioid overdoses from occurring in the first place. 

HOPE features a comprehensive, self-paced app-based training module focused on recognizing the signs of an opioid overdose, administering the life-saving medication naloxone, and strategies for preventing opioid overdoses, such as drug checking using fentanyl test strips.

HOPE was developed by a network of SSDP harm reductionists through SSDP’s Drug Education Committee, which brings together seasoned professionals, passionate students, and people with lived experience to shape the future of drug education and harm reduction on campuses and in communities nationwide.

Join us and take our self-paced training, which takes only one hour to complete, and you will be equipped with critical harm reduction knowledge. Use our app to then order a free HOPE Harm Reduction Kit. 

Our HOPE Harm Reduction Kits are a helpful tool to empower students, young people, and grassroots harm reductionists to educate their peers about opioid overdose recognition, response, and prevention, to actively distribute lifesaving harm reduction tools on campuses and in communities across the country, and as as a jumping off point to engage in the vital policy work necessary to help address the ongoing opioid overdose crisis. 

To complete the HOPE training and receive free HOPE Harm Reduction Kits, download the SSDP Connect app via the Google Play or Apple Store.

Download SSDP’s mobile app here.