California Overdose Prevention And Harm Reduction Initiative
The California Overdose Prevention and Harm Reduction Initiative (COPHRI) supports the health, safety, dignity and autonomy of people who use drugs through evidence-based health services. Services delivered by funded partners embody compassion, empathy, allyship and community-building while rejecting judgement and coercion. COPHRI represents the State of California’s commitment to providing the highest possible standard of health for all Californians. Harm reduction services are a core feature of the drug use continuum of care, which includes access to safer drug use tools, unbiased health education, overdose prevention, social support and health care.
COPHRI is managed as a collaborative project among The Center at Sierra Health Foundation, which manages grantmaking; the California Department of Public Health, which provides funding and technical assistance; and the National Harm Reduction Coalition, which leads capacity building efforts.
What happens when treatment starts with trust?
This video features the voices of our partners across California that are redefining access to care through harm reduction. Learn how COPHRI-funded organizations are helping participants build connections to medications for addiction treatment, supportive services and healthier futures through compassionate, community-centered approaches.
Point-in-Time Survey Results
The 2025 point-in-time survey gathered data from participants at 52 harm reduction programs funded by COPHRI across the state of California. This survey provides insights into demographics, drug use patterns, overdose risk, and access to treatment and harm reduction services.
Drug Use
- 57% of respondents used more than 1 drug
- 15% reported no drug use in past 3 months
- 46% Used stimulants and opioids
- 43% Used only stimulants
- 3% Used only opioids
Drug Treatment
- 55% of respondents were interested in some form of drug treatment
- 30% of respondents received drug treatment in past 3 months
- 47% of people who used opioids were interested in medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) (72% of these respondents preferred to start MOUD through a harm reduction program)
- 36% of people who used opioids received MOUD in past 3 months (51% of these people were linked to MOUD through a harm reduction program)
Overdose & Risk
- 13% Experienced an overdose in past 3 months
- 54% Witnessed an overdose in past 3 months
Peers Are Primary Responders
- 91% of respondents reported naloxone administrations by peers/community
- 8% of respondents reported EMS/Fire administered naloxone
- <1% of respondents reported police administered naloxone
- 73% of respondents said they’d received naloxone in past 3 months (of these respondents, 81% received it from a local harm reduction program)
- 66% reported that they’d personally administered naloxone in past 3 months
Harm Reduction Programs are Health Hubs
These are the proportion of respondents who needed resources/services and accessed them through a harm reduction program in past 3 months
COPHRI Funded Partners
COPHRI currently supports 68 organizations in more than 24 counties with outreach and other service locations.
Follow this link for a complete directory of certified syringe services programs in California. To date, the program has committed more than $42 million for harm reduction services and capacity building. Future funding opportunities will support the development of new projects in historically un-served parts of California and with key populations, including Black, Indigenous and people of color.
- Access Support Network
- Alameda Health System Foundation
- Any Positive Change Inc.
- Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center
- Asian American Drug Abuse Program, Inc.
- Bay Area Community Health
- Being Alive / People with AIDS Action Coalition, Inc.
- Bienestar Human Services
- Blue Hollywood Street Sanctuary
- Clinica Sierra Vista
- Community Health Project Los Angeles
- Comunidad en Outreach for Resilience and Awareness
- County of San Diego
- County of Santa Cruz Syringe Service Program
- Crossroads Recovery Center
- DAP Health
- Drug Safe Solano
- Face to Face
- Family Health Centers of San Diego, Inc.
- Glide Foundation
- Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego
- Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County
- Harm Reduction Services, Inc.
- Healthcare in Action, Inc.
- HIV Education and Prevention Project of Alameda County
- Homeless Health Care Los Angeles
- Homeless Youth Alliance
- HOPE in the Valley
- Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction
- Humboldt County Public Health
- Inland Empire Harm Reduction
- LA Centers for Alcohol and Drug Abuse
- LGBTQ+ Collaborative
- MCAVHN Care and Prevention Network
- Melanin Angels
- Needle Exchange Emergency Distribution
- Neighborhood Healthcare
- Northern Valley Harm Reduction Coalition
- One Voice Recovery
- Plumas County Public Health Agency
- Public Health Division, Marin County Department of Health and Human Services
- Safer Alternatives thru Networking & Education
- Safer Together
- San Francisco AIDS Foundation-SFAF
- San Francisco Drug Users Union
- San Joaquin Valley Free Medical Clinic and
- Needle Exchange
- Santa Clara County Public Health Department
- Shasta County Public Health- HHSA
- Sierra Harm Reduction Coalition
- Siskiyou County Health and Human Services Agency-Public Health
- SLO Bangers Syringe Exchange and Overdose Prevention Program
- Special Service for Groups, Inc.
- St. Johns Community Health
- Stockton Harm Reduction Program
- SUDIS Substance Use Disorder Integrated Services
- Tarzana Treatment Centers, Inc.
- The Gender Health Center
- The Gubbio Project
- The Sidewalk Project
- Up North Harm Reduction
- Valley Streetz
- VelNonArt Transformative Health
- Venice Family Clinic
- Vista Community Clinic
- Wellness Equity Institute
- West County Health Centers
- West Oakland Punks with Lunch
- Yuba Harm Reduction Collective
Additional Harm Reduction Resources
- California Department of Public Health Syringe Services & Harm Reduction (cdph.ca.gov)
- National Harm Reduction Coalition (harmreduction.org)
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Syringe Services Programs (SSPs) CDC (cdc.gov)