Milwaukee is one of of seven cities involved in the campaign to prevent overdose deaths in Black communities; Charlotte and Las Vegas the latest cities to join the effort
Across the United States, overdose deaths decreased in 2024 by nearly 27% from the previous year—a massively positive development. But the United States still loses more than 80,000 people every year, and Black and Indigenous communities continue to be disproportionately affected by high rates of overdose death.
To address the overdose crisis in Black communities, public health organization Vital Strategies launched a major communications campaign in March of this year titled, “You Have the Power to Save Lives.”
The campaign was designed to raise awareness and promote the availability of naloxone in Black communities in seven cities. Those cities are: Milwaukee, Newark, NJ; Durham, NC; Philadelphia, PA; Detroit, MI; Louisville, KY; and Albuquerque, NM—uniting community leaders, public officials, and health experts to spread the word.
Two new cities have joined the campaign: Charlotte, NC and Las Vegas NV.
Vital Strategies partnered with community leaders, city agencies, and other critical partners, including the National Black Harm Reduction Network and the Elton John AIDS Foundation to develop and launch the campaign.
Across participating cities, the campaign promotes low-barrier, confidential access to naloxone in everyday neighborhood places and helps to reduce the stigma that has often discouraged open conversation about overdose in Black communities. Backed by a robust advertising strategy and featuring stories from parents, pastors, and other community leaders, You Have the Power to Save Lives has already reached hundreds of thousands of Black Americans where they live, work, worship, and gather.
Campaign media generated over 32 million total impressions, nearly 1.5 million video views, and hundreds of media hits nationwide. People who saw the campaign were at least five times more likely to carry naloxone, three times more likely to know where to get it, and two times more likely to feel confident using it to reverse an overdose. Close to half reported talking about the messages in the campaign with friends, family, or other people around them.
The impactful effort is already generating interest from other cities where Black overdose deaths are disproportionately high. Organizers welcome and encourage other jurisdictions to get involved—as Charlotte and Las Vegas has—to continue expanding the reach and visibility of naloxone access in Black communities across the country.
So far, over 400 kits have been distributed.
“In Milwaukee, people are finally saying, ‘I need to get naloxone,’” said Tahira Malik, founder of Samad’s House. “People who never would’ve carried it now have it at home. They’re having the hard conversations. It’s hitting home.”
Bryan Winters of Men Mending Men, a Milwaukee-based community group, has also seen the shift. “A year ago, people asked, ‘What is harm reduction?’ Now they know. People want to be part of something bigger.”
He noted the engagement of nontraditional groups like Change Today, Change Tomorrow, and a new focus on older adults, a group heavily impacted in some cities.
Malik added that all Milwaukee emergency personnel now carry naloxone, and distribution is growing to restaurants, vape shops, and summer festivals like Juneteenth.
Vital Strategies is a global health organization that believes every person should be protected by a strong public health system. Our overdose prevention program works to strengthen and scale evidence-based, data-driven policies and interventions to create equitable and sustainable reductions in overdose deaths in several U.S. states and local jurisdictions.
