A Community-Based Approach to the Opioid Crisis
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Real Help–Real Hope: Where Do We Go From Here?
A Community-Based Approach to the Opioid Crisis
Summary:
This keynote presentation, delivered at the Opioid Treatment Providers of Georgia conference, highlights the need for a comprehensive, public health–centered response to the opioid crisis. It emphasizes how social, environmental, and structural factors—such as poverty, racial inequities, and limited healthcare access—shape opioid-related harms, and critiques punitive policies in favor of community-driven, evidence-based solutions.
Key Details:
| Short description: | This presentation critiques the criminalization-focused “War on Drugs” and outlines a public health framework for addressing the opioid crisis, emphasizing prevention, harm reduction, structural analysis, and equity-focused solutions for Georgia and beyond. |
| Lead developer: | Dr. Gia Elise Barboza-Salerno |
| Further reading: | Download the presentation slides for full details. |
| Main data source(s): | Opioid-related mortality, overdose surveillance, Naloxone distribution, treatment access data, regulatory frameworks, and structural vulnerability indicators for Georgia and the United States. |
| Coverage: | Georgia, with comparisons to national opioid trends. |
| Citation: | Barboza-Salerno, G.E. (2024). Real Help–Real Hope: Where Do We Go From Here? A Community-Based Approach to the Opioid Crisis. Presented at the Opioid Treatment Providers of Georgia Annual Conference, November 11, 2024. |
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