PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Overdose prevention centers (OPCs) offer life-saving interventions in the event of an overdose along with on-site harm reduction services. While studies of OPCs in other countries have shown that they can reduce overdose deaths without increasing crime, they remain a novel concept in the United States.
Before the recent opening of the nation's first state-sanctioned OPC, researchers at the Brown University School of Public Health surveyed people living and working in the Providence, Rhode Island, neighborhood where it is located, to ask about their perceptions of the center. They found that 74% of survey participants supported an OPC opening in their neighborhood and 81% supported an OPC elsewhere in the city, while 13% expressed neutrality.
The results of the survey are published in the Journal of Urban Health.
"This study contributes to the growing body of evidence that overdose prevention centers are widely accepted by local communities, even though policymakers have been slower to support and expand them," said study author Alexandria Macmadu, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Brown's School of Public Health .
More than 200 OPCs operate globally, but there are only three in the U.S.: two city-sanctioned centers in New York City and a third state-sanctioned center in Providence near several of the city's largest hospitals. The Providence OPC, which is operated by the nonprofit Project Weber/RENEW, opened in January 2025. Two years ago, as plans came together for the center's opening, the Brown researchers launched a project to evaluate its effectiveness and impact on the local community.
This smaller, separate study, published on Thursday, April 10, complements the team's ongoing work.
In September and October 2024, members of the research team conducted surveys by knocking on residential doors, visiting businesses and talking with pedestrians within a three-quarter-mile radius of the OPC. Eligible participants were 18 years or older and lived or worked in the area. Respondents were asked whether they were in favor of an OPC opening in their neighborhood or in another part of the city, as well as about their experiences in the neighborhood in the past two months. The researchers also collected basic demographic information.
Of the 125 people surveyed, 74% were in favor of an OPC opening in the surveyed neighborhood, with an additional 13% expressing neutrality and 11% expressing lack of support. A slightly higher proportion of respondents (81%) were in favor of an OPC opening in a different neighborhood. While participants were generally supportive, some expressed concerns about increased drug activity.
Respondents who supported the OPC tended to be younger and to have reported seeing someone who appeared to be homeless in the area during the prior two months. There weren't any other significant sociodemographic differences between those who supported the OPC vs. those who opposed it.
While researchers had hypothesized that younger respondents might be more likely to express support for the OPC, they hadn't predicted that perceived visibility of homelessness would be a factor.
"OPCs help some of the most vulnerable members of our community, including people experiencing homelessness," Macmadu said. "It's encouraging to see that community members may be connecting what they see around them — like visible homelessness — with the need for more services and support."
The authors noted that their results emphasize the importance of engaging with community members to build support for evidence-based harm reduction interventions such as OPCs. Nearly half of respondents (45%) had heard of OPCs prior to the day of the survey, which Macmadu said is likely due to the grassroots education and public awareness campaigns by Project Weber/RENEW.
The study is the first to assess community acceptance for an OPC in the United States prior to the opening of such a center, Macmadu said. The team plans to continue to evaluate community impact over time.
Funding for the study came from Open Society Foundations (OR2022-87525) and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (P20-GM125507).
