First state-sanctioned overdose prevention center opens in Providence
by KENNEDY BUCK, NBC 10 NEWS
(WJAR) — A controversial first in the state for Rhode Island!
Tuesday afternoon, state officials opened the doors to the first ever state sanctioned overdose prevention center, a facility that some in the community still have questions about.
This process was made possible after Gov. Dan McKee signed into law in 2021, allowing for a pilot program.
The overdose prevention center was put together by Project Weber/Renew.
The goal is to help with the state’s overdose crisis.
The building is located on 45 Willard Ave. in Providence and the two-story facility’s goal is to provide a space free of judgement.
The second floor is where the overdose prevention center is located and that’s where people with addictions can come do supervised drug use.
Providence’s Mayor Brett Smiley even said he had his reservations in the beginning, but had to do some research to be completely onboard.
“We’ve indoctrinate into a mentality around sanctioned use, I think there is a real stigma around the certain types of drug uses and I questioned whether it was the right thing for the city and what I knew about my experiences but I got to know it on my end and I did a lot of research,” Smiley said. “The state legislation that enabled this, this is a pilot, this is a test and like any other experiment, if the experiment fails, we’re going to stop.”
The center’s staff assure the community that the facility will be a benefit for the city and for the state, and it will hopefully save lives down the road.
“The idea is that someone comes here and they will be doing what they would be doing behind a dumpster, in an abandoned house, places where there is no one to respond to an overdose and really our goal is to keep people alive and like we always say, people are 30% more likely to enter treatment who access these services,” said Colleen Daley Ndoye, the executive director for Project Weber/Renew.
The center hopes to take in people in the next coming weeks.