FAQs Related to Unhoused Populations
What are the best practices for post-overdose outreach visits for unhoused and housed individuals?
The Best Practice Guidance does not specifically cover specific techniques for unhoused and housed individuals. Programs often get location information that includes the location of the overdose and the residence of the overdose survivor. For unhoused survivors, outreach to the location of the overdose may be worthwhile when a reliable residence address is not available.
The Best Practice Guidance includes a section on outreach contact procedures. Post-overdose outreach programs rely on a telephone number if they are going to do phone outreach and an address if they are going to do in-person outreach.
The Best Practice Guidance Section Visit Procedures 5.1 Outreach Timing and Methods recommends:
Whenever possible, post-overdose outreach staff should attempt to contact an overdose survivor by phone or text to explain their purpose and obtain consent for further outreach before conducting an in-person visit.
When privacy, health, or safety considerations preclude an in-person visit to an overdose survivor’s residence, phone-, video-, or text-based conversations can be alternative ways to provide overdose prevention and engagement support.
- Subsequently mailing or dropping off materials in-person are reasonable alternatives to in-person visits that maintain privacy and confidentiality, provided the overdose survivor has given the post-overdose outreach team explicit consent to do so.
- If a visit to an overdose survivor’s home is not private, not preferred by the survivor, or not feasible for health and/or safety reasons, a meeting should be arranged with the overdose survivor at another location once initial contact is made and consent for an in-person visit is provided.
- If privacy, health, or safety concerns are too great for an in-person visit to take place, delaying or foregoing the visit entirely may be necessary.