About the Brandeis Opioid Resource Connector

What is the Brandeis Opioid Resource Connector?

The Opioid Overdose Crisis

Starting in 1999, the opioid addiction and overdose crisis has taken an increasing toll across the United States, responsible for nearly 450,000 deaths as of 2018. In response, numerous public and private agencies have funded programs at the national, state, and local level to prevent and treat opioid addiction, help those with opioid use disorder achieve lasting recovery, and provide harm reduction services for individuals engaging in risky opioid use. Stakeholders funded to address the opioid crisis need actionable information to decide what types of programs and policies are best suited for their community's populations and vulnerabilities.

Our Response

This website provides a curated collection of community-based programs and resources to help stakeholders choose, design, and implement essential interventions. It is designed to help communities develop and launch programs that work across the continuum of care — prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction.

The heart of the Connector is the curated list of programs. These diverse examples are now underway in various communities.

Programs are categorized by type and evidence to serve as guides in crafting your community's response.

Collaboration and coordination among a community’s stakeholders are essential.

This section presents tools to help community stakeholders maximize impact. Stakeholders can learn about interventions and effective coalition building.

Understanding the numbers behind the opioid crisis is a critical step in informing local efforts and prioritizing response approach.

Use data and mapping to help determine community-specific needs and inform your program and policy selection.

How to find the best sources of information in the large sea of the internet? We provide additional resources:

  • peer-reviewed literature and background papers
  • tools and toolkits
  • informational websites
  • government consolidator websites that link to further materials
  • funding opportunities
  • a destigmatizing glossary