Background
Each day, 91 people die of opioid overdose in the US,1 including 6 individuals daily in Massachusetts. No group has been more impacted by this crisis than homeless and
vulnerably housed people, whose rates of drug overdose death are 20 times higher than those in the general population. In response to this public health crisis, the Massachusetts General Hospital Kraft Center for Community Health, working in collaboration with Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) and the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), began piloting an innovative mobile medical initiative at opioid overdose “hotspots” in greater Boston in January 2018. This initiative, known as CareZONE, aimed to deliver harm reduction services, addiction treatment, and primary care directly to marginalized individuals at very high risk for drug overdose and death.

* Note: Community Care in Reach®, was previously known as CareZONE