Naloxone Champions: True First Responders
Community-led digital storytelling project to destigmatize nonfatal opioid overdose across Colorado.
Naloxone Champions: Destigmatizing Overdose Response is a community-engaged digital storytelling project led by Dr. Marty Otañez (CU Denver Anthropology) with funding from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the CDC's Overdose Data to Action grant.
In the summer of 2021, 76 Coloradans — people who use drugs, family members, peer responders, EMS and Harm Reduction workers — joined hybrid workshops to make short (~3 minute) videos about reversing overdoses, low-dose naloxone, reducing stigma, and the humanity of people who use drugs. Community screenings followed in Alamosa, Pueblo, Denver, Fort Collins, Glenwood Springs, and Grand Junction in August 2021.
Denver cohort — Co-organized digital storytelling workshops at Colorado Village Collaborative and shared my "DUI" nonfatal overdose story.
Watch the full Denver playlist on YouTube →
About the project at CU Denver →
Why it matters
Naloxone is a lifesaving overdose reversal medication, but stigma is the wall around it. The Naloxone Champions project moves beyond statistics to put real Coloradans on screen — neighbors, friends, parents, people who use drugs — are all community first responders. Together, we can share lifesaving knowledge with our communities — how to recognize the signs of an overdose, respond quickly, and help save a life in an emergency.