Nonprofit organization Zero Overdose is partnering with digital community health worker navigation platform Pear Suite to provide training for community health workers (CHWs) and other home and community-based service providers across the country. 

Zero Overdose gives providers and organizations tools for overdose safety planning and ultimately preventing unintentional overdose deaths, while Hawaii-based Pear Suite’s Care Navigation Platform gathers social determinants of health data to assist CHWs in analyzing and responding to social determinants of health. 

Through the partnership, the companies will provide training to CHWs and other home and community-focused organizations, with a primary goal of improving motivational interviewing and counseling skills, de-escalation, screening and identifying individuals at-risk for suicide, overdose-safety planning and harm-reduction techniques. 

"This partnership represents a groundbreaking step in our ongoing fight against the overdose crisis. By joining forces with Pear Suite, we're not just pooling resources; we're combining our shared passion and commitment to empower those at the very heart of this battle – the community health workers," Tom McCarry, cofounder of Zero Overdose, told MobiHealthNews in an email. 

"Their role is crucial, serving on the front lines, directly engaging with and supporting individuals at risk and helping them develop overdose safety plans. Through this collaboration, we aim to significantly enhance their ability to make a real difference, providing them with advanced tools, training and resources needed to address the complexities of substance abuse and overdose prevention."

THE LARGER TREND

Pear Suite closed a $2.5 million seed round in 2023 in order to expand its SDOH-driven care navigation platform. 

In 2023, the startup partnered with nonprofit OutCare Health, which focuses on LGBTQ+ health. OutCare Health would utilize Pear Suite’s platform to connect LGBTQ+ patients with affirming healthcare providers, mentors and community health resources. 

Zero Overdose joined with Tulsa, Oklahoma-based mental health-focused think tank Healthy Minds Policy Initiative last year to reduce overdose deaths in Tulsa County. The company provided patient-centered approaches to addressing overdose risks and fostered new strategies for prevention and harm reduction. 

New York-based Zero Overdose was awarded $49,000 by the National Association of City and County Health Officials for the nonprofit’s work in Ulster County, New York. The project involves the adoption of overdose safety planning for individuals being released from incarceration in Ulster County.