Harrisburg, PA – Today, the Shapiro Administration released its Overdose Prevention Program Annual Report highlighting how naloxone and drug checking tools provided by the Administration are saving thousands of lives, fostering community partnerships, and reducing stigma surrounding substance use and overdose prevention in Pennsylvania.
The Overdose Prevention Program is a statewide initiative led by the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) to expand access to naloxone and drug checking tools to prevent fatal overdoses and strengthen overdose response.
Between January 2025 and September 2025, frontline organizations reported nearly 9,500 overdose reversals. The reversals are linked to naloxone distributed through the program, representing real-world use of these tools during overdose events and thousands of lives saved through timely intervention. Early estimates show that in 2025, Pennsylvania saw the fewest overdose deaths in more than a decade.
“DDAP’s Overdose Prevention Program is the foundation of our efforts to having fewer overdose deaths while contributing to stronger public health outcomes statewide,” said DDAP Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones. “We’re seeing progress because the Shapiro Administration is investing in proven life-saving strategies like the Overdose Prevention Program, ensuring timely access to naloxone and other resources that are preventing fatal overdoses.”
How the Overdose Prevention Program Works
The program operates through a hub-and-spoke distribution model. Regional overdose prevention partners - the hubs - receive, store, and distribute supplies to local organizations, service providers, and individuals – the spokes - within their communities. This structure ensures that overdose prevention resources reach both urban and rural areas efficiently, with targeted support for communities at highest risk of overdose.
Through nearly 100 statewide partners, DDAP distributed nearly 800,000 doses of naloxone and 737,000 fentanyl and xylazine test strips in 2025. Partners reached individuals in clinical settings, recovery programs, libraries, churches, campuses, drop-boxes, mail-based distribution, mobile outreach, and other places. The supplies were provided directly to the people most likely to witness or experience an overdose, including individuals who use drugs, family members, peers, and service providers.
For instance, across Philadelphia, where the city is on track to see its lowest number of fatal overdoses in nearly a decade, there are currently five DDAP overdose prevention partners that distribute overdose prevention supplies through the program:
- PA Harm Reduction Network
- Philadelphia Department of Public Health
- Philadelphia Single County Authority
- Prevention Point Philadelphia
- Savage Sisters.
“The Pennsylvania Overdose Prevention Program has strengthened our community outreach and engagement efforts. Through consistent access to naloxone and testing strips, we’ve equipped partners with life-saving resources, increased public awareness, and helped prevent fatal overdoses across high-risk areas,” said Health Program Administrator Todd Nickelsberg, Philadelphia Single County Authority. “The program’s structure and support have expanded our prevention work with greater confidence and sustainability.”
All overdose prevention partners can be located through DDAP’s website.
According to data from the Department of Health, overall overdose deaths are falling in Pennsylvania. However, overdose death rates among communities of color continue to remain higher rates than among white and non-Hispanic individuals. In 2024, Black Pennsylvanians died from an overdose at a rate that was 2 times higher than white Pennsylvanians.
“Substance use has taken the lives of far too many Pennsylvanians, and the Shapiro Administration is working to reduce the number of people experiencing drug overdoses using evidence-based strategies,” said Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen. “For example, the Administration’s wide distribution of free naloxone, and fentanyl and xylazine test strips, is an effective public health strategy that is reducing fatal overdoses in the Commonwealth.”
Progress Through Strategic Partnerships
In 2025, DDAP partnered with Philadelphia’s Office of Public Safety’s Overdose Response Unit and the Philadelphia Fire Department to launch an initiative - Naloxone in Black - to address the increasing numbers of overdoses among Black Pennsylvanians by placing free, low-barrier naloxone boxes throughout the city.
The naloxone for the initiative is funded and supplied through DDAP’s Overdose Prevention Program. Over 90,000 doses of naloxone were stocked within newspaper-style boxes across Philadelphia’s 61 public-facing fire stations since the launch in August 2025.
Investing in Overdose Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery
In addition to the Overdose Prevention Program, the Shapiro Administration has worked since day one to implement successful initiatives that increase and expand access to overdose prevention tools and low-barrier SUD treatment, like mobile treatment units and warm hand-off programs in local hospitals that transfer a person who has overdosed from an emergency department directly into treatment.
Many of the organizations the Shapiro Administration is supporting are receiving grant funding from the various opioid settlement funds secured by Governor Josh Shaprio when he was Pennsylvania’s Attorney General.
DDAP’s initiatives include:
- Distributing more than 415,000 doses of naloxone and nearly 437,000 fentanyl and xylazine test strips through the agency’s life-saving Overdose Prevention Program within the first six months of 2025;
- Establishing exceptions to licensing regulations that allow for telehealth-only SUD services to expand treatment accessibility statewide;
- Licensing mobile opioid treatment programs to pave the way for increased access to medication-assisted treatment; and
- Launching a workforce development pilot program with Carlow and Waynesburg universities to accelerate the training of new substance use treatment professionals.
Under the Shapiro Administration, DDAP has invested more than $85 million in overdose prevention, treatment and recovery, including:
- More than $40 million to retain professionals working in Pennsylvania’s drug and alcohol field through DDAP’s student loan repayment program;
- Nearly $20 million to expand drop-in center services for individuals with SUD across Pennsylvania;
- More than $6 million for 19 organizations to establish or expand SUD services, community outreach and education to underrepresented communities of color;
- More than $8 million to expand or enhance recovery support services for individuals in recovery;
- Nearly $7 million to administer the operations of DDAP’s current Get Help Now hotline for a five-year period;
- More than $2 million for community-based organizations and public health programs to assist individuals in accessing DDAP-licensed recovery houses;
- Nearly $1.5 million for seven Pennsylvania organizations to implement community-based prevention services to prevent opioid use disorder (OUD), allowing for more evidence-based and youth-focused programs centered on preventing opioid misuse from an early age; and
- More than $1 million to expand or enhance community-based harm reduction services for individuals who use opioids and other drugs, particularly in underserved areas.
24/7 Help
Individuals seeking substance use treatment or recovery supports can be connected to local SUD resources by calling the toll-free PA Get Help Now helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or by using Treatment Atlas, a free, online or smart phone locator tool to help Pennsylvanians confidentially find SUD treatment that meets their needs.
In addition, local treatment programs are administered through county drug and alcohol offices called Single County Authorities. These programs can help with treatment funding, assess the need for treatment or other services, and make referrals to match treatment and/or service needs.
Learn more about the Shapiro Administration’s efforts in combating the overdose crisis at ddap.pa.gov.
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