Rhode Island’s Community Conversations and Community Overdose Engagement (CODE) Summit Addresses Stigma and Highlights Local Initiatives to Save and Improve Lives
Published on Thursday, November 05, 2026
Cranston, Rhode Island - Today, Rhode Island’s 2026 statewide Community Conversations and CODE Summit at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick addressed stigma surrounding substance use, highlighted the progress of the Rhode Island Health Equity Zone (HEZ) Initiative’s overdose prevention efforts, and strengthened community partnerships to save and improve lives.
The Summit was hosted by the Governor's Overdose Task Force in partnership with the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals (BHDDH), the Department of Health (RIDOH), and the HEZ Initiative.
Rhode Island’s CODE Summits began in 2017 with a call to action for its 39 cities and towns to develop comprehensive overdose prevention plans based on local-level data. The event was the fifth statewide Summit in nine years, creating space for more than 300 state and municipal leaders, community partners, peer recovery specialists, healthcare professionals, treatment providers, and other key stakeholders to learn from one another, address challenges, build on strengths, and share resources.
Stacey Levin, Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS), Certified Community Health Worker (CCHW), Deputy Director of the Rhode Island Communities for Addiction Recovery Efforts (RICARES), served as the event’s emcee and urged participants during her introduction to “Look beyond your own town line. Get to know the resources in the communities around you and let them get to know you. Talk openly and inclusively about recovery, because every time we do, we make it a little easier for the next person to reach out. In Rhode Island, we have every opportunity to make sure that no one, in any city or town, has to go it alone.”
The event’s keynote speaker, Steven Parkhurst, Co-Founder and Director of Operations, Rhode Island Freedom Collective, and Chief Operating Officer, Reentry Campus Program, shared a powerful personal story about substance use disorder, stigma, incarceration, and the lasting impacts of drug policies. Parkhurst emphasized that everyone can be a changemaker in reducing stigma, addressing barriers to recovery, and helping shift the response to substance use from the criminal justice system to a public health approach. A panel discussion continued with anti-stigma conversations grounded in valuable lived experience, focusing on the harms caused by stigma and the policies, systems, and barriers that stand in the way of recovery.
Panelists included: Sarah Edwards, CPRS, CHW; Assistant Director of Recovery Housing, RICARES; Cecilia Fix, MD, Division Director, Addiction Medicine, Brown University Health, and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Alpert Medical School of Brown University; Lex Morales, Pawtucket Program Manager, Project Weber/RENEW (PWR); and Ashley Perry, Deputy Director and Overdose Prevention Center Director, PWR.
“Stigma is a barrier that needs to be addressed. The unfair beliefs, stereotypes, and prejudices associated with stigma limit people’s ability to seek care and prevent individuals and families from accessing resources that can help reduce risks of overdose and help them live fulfilling and healthy lives. Having open and honest community conversations about substance use and overdose can help address root causes of substance use and disparities that impact individuals and families,” said Cathy Schultz, MPH, Overdose Task Force Director.
The Summit also highlighted 11 Rhode Island HEZs that received Opioid Settlement funding to implement community-based overdose prevention initiatives aligned with the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee (OSAC) priorities and the Governor's Overdose Task Force’s Strategic Plan. Rhode Island’s HEZs are local collaboratives across the state using resident-driven decision-making to improve community well-being and health outcomes. HEZ backbone agencies presented their local strategies, which are critical components of the state’s overdose prevention ecosystem, supporting naloxone distribution, peer recovery networks, recovery-friendly communities, and cross-sector coordination that has significantly expanded community-based response.
“Our Rhode Island HEZs are essential partners in statewide overdose prevention work. Local communities know their residents, challenges, strengths, and resources best. When we empower communities with support and resources, they have a greater capacity to affect change and challenge the systems that perpetuate health inequities,” said EOHHS Assistant Secretary Ana Novais, MA.
Rhode Island saw a historical reduction in lives lost to fatal overdose in 2025. This marked the third consecutive year of decreases in overdose deaths, specifically a 50% decrease since 2022 and the lowest number of deaths the state has seen since 2012. However, Black and Latino/x/e communities in Rhode Island continue to be disproportionately impacted by overdose deaths. Additionally, non-Hispanic Black individuals continue to experience the highest rate of fatal overdose in our state. Summit participants emphasized the need to keep efforts to reduce racial disparities front and center by addressing stigma, improving access to treatment, and building accessible systems that support health and long-term recovery.
The Summit also included a special presentation of the Governor’s Career Service Citation to Linda Mahoney, CDCS, CS; State Opioid Treatment Authority, Associate Director, BHDDH, and Task Force Co-Chair, Treatment Work Group, recognizing 40 years of dedicated leadership and service to individuals and families affected by substance use and mental health challenges, as well as her lasting contributions to the field of behavioral health.
A dedicated 2026 Community Conversations and CODE Summit webpage is available on PreventOverdoseRI.org and includes the Summit's presentations, audio recording, resources, and more.
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