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The mission of the Berkshire Overdose Addiction Prevention Collaborative (BOAPC) is to implement local policy, practice, systems, and/or environmental changes to prevent the misuse of opioids and to prevent unintentional deaths and non-fatal hospital events associated with opioid poisonings throughout the 32 municipalities in Berkshire County.

This program emphasizes the integration of SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) model into overall prevention systems, to ensure a consistent data-driven planning process focused on implementing effective and sustainable strategies and interventions.

The Collaborative consists of participants from across Berkshire County including community service organizations, medical and mental health practitioners, government, law enforcement, treatment/recovery providers, education, people in recovery, people who use drugs and individual citizens alike.  BOAPC provides an engaging space for these partners to work together to identify needs in the community and collaborate on implementing solutions.

Key partners in this project include:

BOAPC mobilizes existing resources and builds capacity to address the identified gaps in services, continues the development and implementation of strategies to prevent the misuse or abuse of opioids, and prevents or reduces unintentional deaths and non-fatal events associated with opioid poisonings. Strategies to reduce opioid misuse that are being implemented include, but are not limited to:

  1. Public communications campaigns to reduce stigma around people who use opioids
  2. Explore alternative methods for addressing chronic pain
  3. Media campaign around safe storage and disposal of medications
  4. Community education around risks of opioid consumption, particularly with the increased presence of fentanyl in cocaine, methamphetamines, pressed pills and other substances
  5. Increase naloxone (Narcan) availability in Berkshire County
  6. Comprehensive information on connecting post-overdose patients to treatment, recovery and support options
  7. Promotion of Harm Reduction strategies
  8. Community education on the Good Samaritan Law

The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission is the fiscal host for this project. The coordinator for this project is Andy Ottoson. If you have any questions about this program, please email us or call 413-442-1521 x37.