Nebraska Harm Reduction Program
Keeping people alive so they can choose how to live.
According to the U.S. News & World Report, 140 individuals in the United States die of a drug overdose with 91 specifically due to opioids each day. Between 2011 and 2015, overdose deaths in the US from opioids tripled. By 2014, Americans were more likely to die from an opioid overdose than from a car accident. By 2017, life expectancy in the United States declined due to opioids.The Nebraska Harm Reduction Program is a community-based program that combines the leadership of a lived-experience instructor with the evidence-based support of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s College of Public Health to help address this issue. It is designed to train individuals and organizations on how to identify overdoses, act to respond to overdoses, identify barriers to care, and advocate for the removal of barriers to care for people who use drugs.
Meet the Director
Against all odds, Paul Weishapl survived two decades of heroin and fentanyl addiction, a journey marked by seven naloxone reversals and the loss of most friends to death or prison. His multiracial adoption and subsequent navigation of societal stigmas, compounded by his own experiences, ignited a passion to repay his community. Driven by the preventable overdose deaths of ninety-one peers, he seeks to leverage his unique insights and public health knowledge to implement harm reduction strategies and combat stigma in Nebraska.
In the News
How a survivor is now helping battle the opioid epidemic
The U.S. reports more opioid deaths than any other country in the world, and organizations around the country are scrambling for solutions.
Omaha man saved from overdose seven times weighs in on FDA approval of over-the-counter Narcan
The FDA recently approved over-the-counter sales of Narcan. Weishapl said that's "a step" to improving ease of access and awareness.
Resources
Find additional resources that offer support for those experiencing addiction.