Hidden Gem: Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention

Hilary Bryant an is the Program Manager at Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention . They’ve answered some questions below to help librarians around Colorado learn about their organization, agency, and/or services.

Below, you’ll learn about Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and their potential to help you serve your community. In addition, at the end of this post we’ve included some of their resources for you to view and/or use.

Tell us who you are and what you do for Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention.

The Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention helps to coordinate Colorado’s response to the misuse of medications such as opioids, stimulants, and sedatives. The Consortium’s mission is to reduce prescription drug misuse in Colorado by developing policies, programs, and partnerships with the many Colorado agencies, organizations, and community coalitions addressing one of the state’s major public health crises. We understand the significant role libraries play in their communities and believe that partnering with them can be a powerful way to reach individuals and families in need.

How can Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention partner with a library to offer resources or programming to the local community of library visitors and users?

There are numerous ways the Consortium can partner with libraries to offer valuable resources and programming. We can provide educational materials, provide introductions to community partners who can conduct workshops and seminars, and offer support for medication disposal programs. Additionally, we can collaborate on community outreach initiatives to raise awareness about prescription drug abuse prevention and treatment options. Much of our work is to be the coordinating body for the state’s opioid overdose and prevention response. A lot of our work is ensuring that community partners are aware of each other and each other’s work to prevent duplication of efforts and unnecessary competition for the same funding. Networking is pivotal to our work.

What needs or challenges can Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention help libraries address for their communities?

The Colorado Consortium works collectively with partners across the state of Colorado to combat the opioid and overdose crisis.  We have an external relations team who reside in urban, rural, and frontier communities and support community members and organizations by sharing resources, providing education and technical support and advising on best practices with local partners, such as libraries, while elevating the voice of local communities to state policymakers and funders.

What regions – cities, counties, areas – of Colorado does your organization reach?

Our organization reaches a wide range of regions across Colorado. We have established partnerships with communities in both urban and rural areas, ensuring that our resources and services are accessible to individuals throughout the state. These relationships are important in many ways. It allows us to relay the most current information in communities to state leaders as they make important decisions that impact Coloradans every day. An example of this is that a community partner alerted the Consortium that the Colorado Fentanyl Accountability Act created a loophole in the Good Samaritan law. This loophole allowed people in possession of Fentanyl to be arrested even if they called 911 in good faith to save someone’s life. We were able to work with state legislators to close this loophole, encouraging those in need of help to call 911.

Do the services or resources from Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention cost any money?

All of the services and resources offered by the Consortium are provided at no cost. We believe that access to prevention and treatment information should be available to everyone, regardless of their financial situation.

Do libraries have to provide any funds or apply to any grants to work with Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention?

Libraries do not need to provide any additional funds or apply for grants to work with the Consortium. Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for libraries to partner with us and offer valuable resources to their communities. Please connect with the External Relations Staff in your region to discuss ways we can work together to mitigate the opioid and stimulant crisis in your community.

Do libraries have to provide any staff, volunteers, or training in order to run your programs or provide resources or services with Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention?

While libraries do not need to provide dedicated staff or volunteers to run our programs, we do encourage them to be actively involved in promoting and supporting our initiatives. This can include helping to publicize events, distribute materials, and provide guidance to community members. If you are interested in staying up-to-date with topics such as recovery, treatment, affected families and friends, and many more, you can participate in our work groups. We currently have 11 different work groups that are working to tackle this crisis.

What support can you offer libraries to help them access additional resources or funding to bring Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention to their library?

We can offer support to libraries seeking educational resources and training, such as opioid overdose response and naloxone trainings. We also provide information on funding sources, or offer assistance with grant writing. 

We invite you to participate in one or more Consortium work group to share your expertise, to contribute to advancing evidence based practices and policies, and to generate solutions to challenging issues in mitigating and reversing the opioid crisis in Colorado.  To learn more about our work groups and to sign up, please visit our webpage.

Let’s say one of our librarians, directors, or staff contact you and says, “We want to bring Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention to our community!” What will the next step look like?

If a librarian or staff member is interested in partnering with the Consortium, the next step is simple. Please submit your contact information on the request form and we will connect with you to discuss ways we can work to combat the opioid crisis together, in your community. You can also email our External Relations Staff in your region.

Note from editor: Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention’s annual report provides information related to their successes, their challenges, and their vision for the future for us and our neighbors.

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Not every resource or partner that we highlight will meet the needs or fit in with the mission of every library or community that will read this post. Furthermore, no single interview can include every available opportunity to work with Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention.

If you have any questions about this partner or the Hidden Gems series please email me – Cristy Moran, Adult Library Services Senior Consultant at the Colorado State Library – at moran_c@cde.state.co.us