Nashville Prevention Partnership prevents substance abuse by connecting and uniting individuals, organizations and institutions. Through school-based student assistance programs, community initiatives and media campaigns, NPP strives to change youths’ perceptions of social norms and in turn reduce the use of drugs and alcohol:

The Prevention Alliance of Tennessee (PAT)

The mission of the Prevention Alliance of Tennessee (PAT) is to inform and advocate for alcohol safety, substance abuse prevention, and public health policy concerns to Tennesseans and lawmakers. PAT brings together groups of anti-drug coalitions, which in turn work to reduce substance use in Tennessee.

For additional information, please visit the Prevention Alliance of Tennessee website.

Regional Overdose Prevention Specialists

Regional Overdose Prevention Specialists (ROPS) are located throughout the state of Tennessee as a point of contact for training and education on opioid overdose and for overdose prevention through the distribution of naloxone.  From October 2017 to February 2019, the ROPS distributed more than 35,000 units of naloxone with more than 14,000 of those units distributed to law enforcement.  TDMHSAS has documented at least 2,000 lives saved because of naloxone distributed during that time.  Because of stigma and other factors, the department believes the actual number of lives saved is much higher.

The ROPS have varied backgrounds, including peer nurses who are in recovery, paramedics, and Certified Peer Recovery Specialists.  TDMHSAS has a total of 20 ROPS operating in 13 regional divisions across the state.  Click this link or the map below for contact information.

ROPS focus on three primary groups with their work:

• First Responders
• Individuals at high risk of overdose, their families, and friends
• Agencies and organizations that provide treatment and recovery services or community resources

The Regional Overdose Prevention Specialists interface with their assigned communities primarily through training events.  Since October 2017, ROPS have held more than 1,450 trainings with more than 32,000 participants.  Material for the trainings consists of:

1. Harm Reduction – Harm Reduction is a way of preventing disease and promoting health that meets people where they are rather than making judgments about where they should be.  Scientifically-proven ways of mitigating risks associated with use are essential.  This includes the distribution of the lifesaving opioid overdose antidote Naloxone.
2. Addressing Stigma – ROPS seek to reduce stigma in their communities by encouraging people at their trainings to use person first language remembering that the person living with a substance use disorder is still a person first.  Other stigma reducing topics include identifying unintentional bias, examining drug use from a continuum perspective, and understanding that substance misuse is often linked to trauma.
3. Increasing Public Awareness – In their trainings, ROPS also share knowledge of the broader trends of the opioid crisis, the brain science of addiction, compassion fatigue, and how to administer naloxone.

To learn more or to schedule an opioid education and naloxone training, please contact your Regional Overdose Prevention Specialist.  Find the Regional Overdose Prevention Specialist who seves your area using the map at this link.

Lifeline Peer Project

What is the Lifeline Peer Project?

The Lifeline Peer Project is established to reduce stigma related to the disease of addiction and increase access to substance abuse recovery like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

What are the services offered with Lifeline Peer Project?

Lifeline Representatives help start Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Celebrate Recovery, and other self-help support groups. They help connect individuals with treatment and they speak publicly about their own personal experience with recovery.

How do I access the Lifeline Peer Project?

There are 10 Lifeline coordinators located throughout the state.  The map below includes the locations of the Lifeline Coordinators along with their direct contact information.

For more information, contact a Lifeline Representative near you.

Naloxone Training Information

The misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, along with the associated morbidity and mortality, has been identified as one of the most serious and costly issues facing Tennesseans today. In 2015, Tennessee had the tenth highest drug overdose death rate in the United States, most of which was due to prescription drugs.  The Department of Health has developed an interactive Prescription Drug Overdose Dashboard to allow Tennesseans to look and see how prescription drug and opioid overdose is affecting their state and its counties.  For more information on the Prescription Drug Overdose (PDO) webpage, please visit this link.

Naloxone is not a dangerous medicine.  However, proper training to administer the medication is required by law.  Any time an overdose is suspected, call 911 immediately and stay with the patient until first responders arrive.  It is important to know that some patients may awake disoriented or agitated after receiving naloxone.  This is a good sign, but calling 911 is still very important to help the person survive.

Training for General Public and Law Enforcement

The two trainings below satisfy the training requirement in the Good Samaritan Law.  The individual training was developed for settings with limited time or limited access to technology.  The classroom training can take up to 45 minutes and is more comprehensive.

Individual Training

General Training PDF

Group or Classroom Training

Training for Health Professionals

Tobacco Prevention for Youth – SYNAR

Selling tobacco products to kids under the age of 18 is illegal

Each year, the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services teams up with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture to visit tobacco product retailers across the state to determine if they are following the law.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) requires states to effectively enforce laws prohibiting the sale and distribution of tobacco products to persons under the age of 18. Once a year the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services submits a report detailing its activities to enforce the law.

Good Samaritan Law

In July 2014, Tennessee became the 18th state to pass a “Good Samaritan” civil immunity law centered on naloxone.  The legislation has four key components:

• Grants immunity from civil suit to providers who prescribe naloxone to a patient, family member, friend or other person in a position to assist giving the medicine naloxone.
• Allows the Department of Health to provide training and instruction on how to use naloxone.
• Requires you to receive basic instruction on how to give naloxone, including taking a quiz and printing the certificate.
• Grants a “Good Samaritan” civil immunity for administering the medicine to someone they reasonably believe is overdosing on an opioid.

Tobacco Retailer Materials

TDMHSAS, in consultation with the Departments of Agriculture and Health, has revised and updated our tobacco retailer education materials.

Tennessee Tobacco Retailer Education Guide

Tennessee Tobacco Retailer Education Guide (Spanish Language Version)

Tennessee Tobacco Retailer Quick Reference Guide

Nashville Recovers

NPP has now added recovery to its mission. Nashville Recovers seeks to spread the word that recovery from substance abuse is available and accessible in town. Nashville Recovers also seeks to reduce stigma around those in recovery. A speakers bureau will put recovering alcoholics and addicts in front of civic groups, schools, churches, media and other outlets so these men and women can tell their moving and inspirational stories of transformation.

NashvilleRecovers.org is a resource for those in active addiction seeking help locally. Contact NPP’s Peer Recovery Coordinator, Kirk Johnson, for more information.