According to the CDC, there were over 107,000 fatal overdoses in the U.S. in 2021. This figure is staggering. Each number represents a unique life that was lost in the addiction crisis. It also raises an important question: who is being most affected by this epidemic? 

According to SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the BIPOC community is most at risk for developing addiction. BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. 

Stress, trauma, housing discrimination, racism, hate crimes, and systemic pressures drastically increase the risk of developing addiction. 

According to several studies, Black individuals in particular are at risk for addiction. Within the last 5 years, there has been a rise in opioid-related overdoses among Black Americans. During this time period, Black people accounted for 43% of all overdoses. This is especially jarring since Black people only make up approximately 12% of the general population. 

BIPOC individuals also face barriers when trying to access treatment. These barriers can take the form of familial stigma, cultural stigma, limited healthcare access, systemic discrimination, and regulatory barriers. 

Learn more about the history and effects of each of the drugs below with these neat, printable fact sheets (all PDFs) that can serve as handy resources that are easy to distribute.

Risk and protective factors are a set of influences that can be present in the individual, family, social/peer and community/society domains. Risk factors found in society include discrimination, marginalization, and poverty. Societal protective factors include culture and religion.

The Behavioral Health Treatment Needs Assessment Toolkit is intended to provide states and other payers with information on the prevalence and use of behavioral health services; step-by-step instructions to generate projections of utilization under insurance expansions; and factors to consider when deciding the appropriate mix of behavioral health benefits, services, and providers to meet the needs of newly eligible populations. The Toolkit was developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Plan template

Effective prevention practices just don’t sustain themselves. To produce and maintain positive substance misuse prevention outcomes, communities and organizations need to sustain the prevention practices responsible for those outcomes. These include implementing: Effective strategic planning processes and Interventions that work.

Effective prevention efforts focus on impacting the individual, peers, families, and the overall community environment. It is the role of coalitions to reduce substance misuse in the larger community by implementing comprehensive, multi-strategy approaches using a public health approach to prevention.

This checklist, developed by SAMHSA’s Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies, walks you through the steps to plan for sustainability. Coalitions can use this guide as they work through their sustainability plan.

The elements of successful recruitment aren’t complex, but they do take time and resilience. Engaging a potential partner requires careful research, relationship building, and a strategic pitch. But even with careful preparation, there will be times when your efforts don’t pan out—at least not initially. This tool presents some tried-and-true tips from seasoned prevention practitioners on “getting to yes” when recruiting potential prevention partners.

As the first step in the Strategic Prevention Framework, the assessment process involves the collection of data to define the problems, resources and readiness of a community to address needs and gaps in service.

Phase 1 of the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) focuses on understanding the pressing substance use issues. Key activities include gathering data to understand problems, choosing a problem of practice, and assessing community readiness to address the problem of practice.

Implementation Toolkit