With rising overdose rates, communities are pressingly responding to the impacts of substance use disorder, while most are operating with a “skeleton staff.”
We get it. You are busy saving lives right now and you do not have the time or resources to be scouring the internet to find information on effective strategies to implement in your local community. SAFE Project recognizes the urgent need to take action and we understand the real complexities and challenges our communities are facing nationwide. That’s why we’re sharing with you SAFE Solutions – a place where you can find information from reputable sources to support your collective response efforts, help you more easily write grant applications to expand your funding base, and explore opportunities to build more inclusive policies and systems.
What is SAFE Solutions?
Launched in June 2022, SAFE Solutions — yoursafesolutions.us — is a one-stop-shop with nearly 100 prevention, early intervention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery strategies. It is a free, ever-growing platform designed for states and communities with a compendium of research, educational materials, innovative approaches, and best practices curated by national subject matter experts to address state and local challenges pertaining to mental health and substance use disorders.
SAFE Solutions was developed by SAFE Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and leading voice in the substance use and mental health space, as a completely free-to-use platform for any and all communities.
How do I use SAFE Solutions?
From the SAFE Solutions home page, you have two options to browse the available strategies, solutions, and research:
Option 1: By Desired Outcome
Find solutions filtered by desired outcome (one of the seven circles at the top). This option provides a mix of solutions from across prevention, early intervention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and systems – because to truly tackle the complexity of this epidemic it will require the collaboration of all partners.
Option 2: By Continuum of Care
Find solutions based on the Continuum of Care (one of the six elongated buttons on the bottom). This is a great option if you are a professional working within one specific area on the continuum of care and only wish to view solutions within that field.
By navigating either through the “Desired Outcome” or “Continuum of Care” selections, your choice will result in a series of menus, each with their own links to dedicated wiki articles on the respective subject matter.
What are the benefits of the SAFE Solutions platform?
SAFE Solutions runs on the same technology as Wikipedia, and should be immediately intuitive and easy to browse for any regular internet user. Whether you use the main SAFE Solutions home page to dive down into possible choices, or whether you choose to search and browse articles directly within the site, you are sure to find something that you can immediately put into practice in your local community.
SAFE Project also actively works with subject matter experts across all sectors to continuously add new information, research, and best practices into the platform, making it an ever-evolving source of reputable, accurate, authoritative information.
What other resources are available?
SAFE Project also offers the Community Playbook, a step-by-step process of how communities can organize, evaluate, and create change. If you are interested in driving community-centered solutions like the ones you find on the SAFE Solutions platform, the Community Playbook can serve as your framework walking you through finding the right team to lead your effort, working together to identify your priorities, and finally, putting your work into action.
SAFE Project provides tailored, solutions-focused support to communities across the United States and through our innovative, in-house programs. You may also request technical assistance on any of the strategies on our SAFE Solutions platform.
Learn More
SAFE Project’s Community Playbook and SAFE Solutions hub are free resources for communities who are working diligently on-the-ground in response to the addiction epidemic.