Avivo to expand opioid response efforts organization-wide

Avivo will expand its its high-fidelity, harm-reduction practices organization-wide, thanks to a $175,000 grant from Hennepin County. The grant will allow Avivo to bolster opioid prevention, response and treatment to communities disproportionately impacted by the opioid crisis. Avivo is among 41 community agencies who were awarded funding provided by Hennepin County’s portion of the national opioid settlement.

Avivo uses a high-fidelity, harm-reduction approach to engage with people experiencing homelessness as staff develop relationships through street outreach, place adults experiencing homelessness into its transitional living emergency shelter Avivo Village or move people into permanent supportive housing options with Avivo partners. Avivo’s outreach and housing teams specialize in working with the Twin Cities’ Native American community. According to preliminary report of 2022 data by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Native Americans were 12 times more likely than whites to die of an opioid-involved overdose, while Black Minnesotans are four times more likely to die.

“Individuals struggling with opioid use deserve a caring response to help keep them alive and safe so they can take their next step to stability,” shares Kelly Matter, Avivo President & CEO.

“Individuals struggling with opioid use deserve a caring response to help keep them alive and safe so they can take their next step to stability,” shares Kelly Matter, Avivo President & CEO. “We are committed to accepting, meeting and engaging with people on their terms based on an evidenced-based harm reduction framework that effectively addresses this public health crisis.”

Avivo’s high-fidelity harm-reduction approach was recently recognized by the New-York-based National Harm Reduction Coalition, and Avivo leaders across the organization were trained as part of the Coalition’s train-the-trainer program.

Avivo will use this funding to hire a harm reduction manager to bolster Avivo’s culture of harm reduction across the organization. It includes developing a harm reduction council, advancing education and awareness about overdose prevention and response, and conducting training for staff and community partners.

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