Infectious Disease Prevention

Preventing infectious disease starts with making practical prevention tools, education and healthcare connections available to people who need them.

Starting Point provides evidence-based interventions designed to reduce the transmission of bloodborne pathogens and other preventable health risks. We work directly with individuals and communities to provide prevention resources, health information and connections to testing, treatment and other appropriate healthcare services.

Our approach recognizes that effective infectious disease prevention requires more than information alone. People also need practical tools, accessible services and trusted connections to healthcare.

Possible services include:

• Prevention supplies and education
• Information about bloodborne pathogens and other health risks
• Connections to testing and healthcare
• Safer-use education and risk-reduction resources
• Community education regarding infectious disease prevention

Post-Incarceration Reentry

The period immediately following release from incarceration can create significant barriers to healthcare, medication, housing, transportation and other essential services.

Starting Point provides practical reentry support to help individuals navigate that transition and reconnect with community-based resources.

Rather than expecting someone leaving incarceration to navigate multiple complicated systems alone, we help identify immediate needs, make connections and reduce the logistical barriers that can interrupt healthcare or destabilize recovery.

Support may include:

• Connections to healthcare and behavioral health services
• Recovery and peer-support resources
• Assistance navigating community programs and benefits
• Connections to food, transportation and other basic needs
• Referrals to additional community organizations and service providers

Crisis Mitigation and Basic Needs

Sometimes the most immediate threat to someone’s health is also the most basic.

A lack of food, electricity, transportation or another essential resource can quickly become a health crisis and can make it nearly impossible for someone to focus on healthcare, recovery or longer-term stability.

Starting Point provides low-barrier assistance when immediate needs create barriers to health and safety. Depending on available resources, we may provide direct assistance or help connect individuals with other community resources capable of meeting the need.

Support may include:

• Emergency groceries and food assistance
• Utility assistance
• Direct participant aid
• Transportation or other immediate logistical support
• Connections to community resources for longer-term needs

The goal is not to make people prove that they are in enough trouble to deserve help. It is to address immediate barriers before they become larger crises.

Overdose Prevention and Education

Overdose prevention requires responding to the drug supply as it exists today, not as we wish it existed.

Starting Point provides practical tools, education and community-based interventions designed to reduce overdose risk and help individuals make informed decisions about their health and safety.

Our work adapts as the illicit drug supply changes, including emerging substances and contaminants that may alter overdose risk or require different public-health responses.

Services include:

• Naloxone distribution and overdose-response education
• Education about overdose risk and prevention
• Information about emerging substances and changes in the drug supply
• Connections to healthcare, recovery support and other services when requested
• Community education and resource distribution

Our approach is straightforward: people deserve accurate information and access to lifesaving resources regardless of where they are in their lives.

Provider Education and Clinical Translation

Changes in the illicit drug supply do not only affect people who use drugs. They also create new challenges for the healthcare professionals, pharmacies and community organizations serving them.

Starting Point helps translate what is happening in the community into practical information that providers can use.

Through education and technical assistance, we help community partners better understand emerging drug supply contaminants, changing overdose risks and the real-world experiences of the people seeking their services.

This may include:

• Education regarding emerging substances and drug supply trends
• Information about changing overdose risks
• Technical assistance for pharmacies and healthcare providers
• Community-informed education about barriers to care
• Information about changing participant needs and service gaps
• Connections between providers and community-based resources

Starting Point serves as a bridge between community experience and traditional systems of care, helping providers understand what is changing on the ground and respond more effectively.