Phoenix First Responder Opioid Navigation Project - PROJECT ABSTRACT The Phoenix First-Responder Opioid Navigation Project will train 1,450 police officers and community members on administration of opioid overdose reversal medication (OORM) across Phoenix, Arizona, over four years. The Phoenix Police Department (PPD) and EMPACT-Suicide Prevention Center (EMPACT-SPC) will deliver 24/7 crisis outreach and peer-led Post-Crisis Navigation, connecting overdose survivors, to sustained treatment and recovery. Phoenix, Arizona, with approximately 1.67 million residents, is the Project's geographic catchment area. The Phoenix Police Department will serve as the primary applicant and will partner with EMPACT-SPC to provide rapid post-overdose outreach, peer support, and navigation to evidence-based treatment and recovery services. Arizona State University will conduct the local evaluation. The Project addresses a critical gap in the local overdose response: most survivors receive emergency resuscitation but no coordinated follow-up or sustained connection to care. Its goal is to reduce opioid overdose deaths by expanding the capacity of first responders, community anchors, and other key community partners to recognize and respond to suspected overdoses, administer OORM, and connect individuals at highest risk, including people experiencing homelessness, with treatment and recovery services. The Project will implement three integrated strategies: 1) Train PPD officers, community anchors, key community-sector partners, and families or support networks in OORM administration, overdose prevention, emerging drug threats, Good Samaritan protections, and referral resources; 2) Operate a 24/7 in-person Crisis Outreach Response Team to respond rapidly to suspected opioid-related crises involving Phoenix first responders; and 3) Provide, for up to 30-60 days peer-led engagement, warm handoffs, referrals, and connection to ongoing treatment and recovery supports. The Project anticipates serving 1,450 unduplicated individuals through training, equipping, and/or behavioral health response activities. Over the four-year project period, the Project will: a) Train 1,450 individuals with OORM (Year 1: 1,000; Years 2-4: 150 annually); b) Refer 260 individuals believed to have experienced an opioid overdose for follow-up engagement (Year 1: 50; Years 2-4: 70 annually); c) Provide treatment and recovery-service information to 205 overdose survivors and their families or support networks (Year 1: 40; Years 2-4: 55 annually); d) Enroll 150 individuals in short-term post-crisis navigation to support connection to ongoing services (Year 1: 30; Years 2-4: 40 annually). The population of focus includes adult PPD first responders and community members, particularly adults ages 25-44 and individuals with known or suspected opioid use disorder, recent overdose, unmet treatment needs, or involvement with emergency response and other public systems. While national overdose deaths declined by 12% between February 2025 and 2026, Arizona was one of only seven states where overdose deaths increased during this period, rising 8% and resulting in 1,288 fatal overdoses in Phoenix alone in 2025, with people experiencing homelessness accounting for a growing share, from 18% of fatal overdoses in 2022 to 34% in 2024. These individuals will remain a central focus of outreach, engagement, and navigation activities.
