At a glance
The Washington State Overdose Hotline is a student-led initiative designed to reduce the risks… Read full summary
- Funding received
- 2025-2026
- Mini
- Awarded
- $3,125
- Funding partners
-
- Services and Activities Fee (SAF)
The Washington State Overdose Hotline is a student-led initiative designed to reduce the risks associated with using substances alone by providing real-time monitoring and emergency escalation through a technology-enabled hotline. The project creates opportunities for UW students to gain hands-on experience in public health, technology, and interdisciplinary leadership while contributing to a broader culture of mutual aid and community care. The initiative will be developed in phases with professional mentorship from the UW Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute and partnerships with community organizations serving populations disproportionately affected by health disparities. By connecting student learning with a community-centered public health service, the project aims to build long-term student leadership, strengthen networks of care, and contribute to a more resilient and socially connected UW community. CSF funds support a subscription to a necessary professional phone system software.
Washington state faces a severe opioid epidemic where a substantial portion of overdose fatalities occur because individuals are "using alone," without access to immediate intervention. Simultaneously, UW students often lack opportunities to move beyond theoretical coursework into applied, interdisciplinary leadership. The Washington State Overdose Hotline solves this dual problem by establishing a technology-enabled bridge: a digital safety net where trained student monitors provide real-time monitoring and emergency escalation for individuals using substances. This project transforms a public health crisis into a collaborative opportunity for students to manage critical safety infrastructure.
CSF funding will be used to secure cloud-based phone systems (Talkroute) that allow the hotline to function as a scalable, modern service. This project improves the sustainability of the UW campus by integrating these technical improvements with a radical shift in cultural ideology. We are cultivating resilience and mutual aid on the UW Seattle campus by shifting away from a culture of isolation toward a model of community-centered care. By moving from the status quo of theoretical engagement to an active, peer-led ecosystem, the project fosters a permanent institutional legacy where students from diverse academic backgrounds practice ethical responsibility and high-stakes leadership.
Even as the hotline serves the broader region, the primary benefit to UW is the development of a more compassionate and socially responsible student body. We center equity by building trusted community channels through partnerships with organizations that serve historically underrepresented groups, ensuring the benefits of real-time monitoring reach those most impacted by systemic health disparities. The project will be implemented in a phased launch supported by professional mentorship from the UW Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute (ADAI). This transformational intervention ensures that the UW campus remains at the forefront of addressing the opioid crisis through innovation, solidarity, and human connection.
Loveleen Tripathi
Project lead
- tripa029@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Student
- Years
- 1 year(s) remaining at UW
- Affiliated groups
- ADAI, Department of Neuroscience, Narcare, SIA, Department of Bioethics
Silas Healy
Team member
- shealy19@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Student
- Years
- 1 year(s) remaining at UW
- Affiliated groups
- Narcare, UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, AMSA, HCASB, School of Public Health, Department of Bioethics
Dayna Suess
Team member
- daynas2@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Student
- Years
- 3 year(s) remaining at UW
- Affiliated groups
- ADAI
Request amount and budget
Plans for financial longevity
Following the CSF funding period, our project is designed to transition toward diversified and sustainable funding sources that support full operations beyond the initial infrastructure. During the grant period, CSF funding will cover the core technological backbone of our hotline, including our Talkroute subscription, providing a stable foundation for up to four years. In parallel, we will pursue formalization as a nonprofit organization, enabling us to apply for health services grants through WA DOH, SAMHSA, and other federal and state funders. Research grants through UW's own funding mechanisms will be pursued to support our Phase 4 evaluation and any subsequent research activities, with findings used to demonstrate impact to future funders. Our website will be maintained by a dedicated team of IT volunteers, and hotline operations will continue to be staffed by trained student and community volunteers. A formal leadership transition program will ensure continuity across graduation cycles. By the end of the grant period, we anticipate having established enough credibility, outcome data, and community partnerships to make a compelling case for sustained public and philanthropic funding that moves the project well beyond its pilot phase.
The below phased rollout is built with the understanding that the team is currently at Month 2 of our timeline.
Phase 1 – Pre-Launch Preparation (Months 1-5):
The first phase establishes the legal, organizational, and technical foundations necessary to operate a virtual overdose response hotline. In Months 1 and 2, the team has already engaged Washington State legal counsel to review applicability of the Good Samaritan Act (RCW 69.50.315), operator liability, and data privacy requirements under HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2. We are currently convening a stakeholder advisory group comprising people with lived and living experience of substance use (PWLLE), county EMS and dispatch services, tribal health liaisons, WA DOH representatives, and harm reduction agencies such as NEXT Distro and Evergreen Treatment Services, to co-design service protocols suited to Washington's geographic and demographic landscape. In the next month, the team will map existing 911 dispatch infrastructure across all WA counties, identify coverage gaps in rural and tribal areas such as eastern Washington and the Olympic Peninsula, and execute formal memoranda of understanding with relevant dispatch centers. Our technology platform (call routing software, secure data collection system, and virtual staff room) will be tested with a small group of operators by Month 4. Standard operating procedures will be co-designed with PWLLE covering overdose response with all materials available in both English and Spanish. The phase concludes with the recruitment and full training of a minimum of eight peer operators and one program supervisor, with training covering harm reduction principles, WA's current drug supply context, overdose risk factors, naloxone administration, and call platform operation.
Phase 2 – Service Launch (Months 6-7):
This phase marks the transition from preparation to active service delivery, beginning with a structured two-week soft launch in Month 6 weeks 1–2 accessible only through certain select partner agencies like local syringe service programs and harm reduction clinics. During the soft launch, the team will monitor call volume, technology reliability, and operator performance, conduct daily debriefs, and refine protocols based on real call experience before opening the line to more callers. We will also recruit more volunteers at this stage based on caller volume. A full public launch will follow in Month 7, accompanied by distribution of promotional materials to syringe service programs, shelters, and community health organizations. A coordinated social media campaign will launch across Facebook and Instagram, and a press release will be issued to Washington State media outlets and harm reduction networks. All partner organizations, first responders, and EMS dispatch centers will be formally notified of the go-live date with clear guidance on how to refer individuals to the hotline.
Phase 3 – Operations (Months 8-12):
This phase encompasses the sustained day-to-day operation of the hotline across the full project period, with continuous quality improvement informed by call data, operator feedback, and client experience. The line will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with a minimum of two trained operators per shift, supported by a virtual staff room for real-time peer consultation and a rotating roster of casual operators to manage surge periods; all operators will participate in regular group debriefs following adverse events. Throughout the project, the outreach coordinator will conduct quarterly naloxone training events in WA communities locally near the UW and further away as well, distribute hotline information via naloxone kit inserts, and engage rural communities through WA DOH mobile outreach partnerships.
Phase 4 – Evaluation (Months 8+):
The final phase focuses on rigorous evaluation of service outcomes, dissemination of findings to the scientific and policy communities, and securing a path to long-term sustainability beyond the grant period. Beginning in Month 12, the research team will analyze de-identified call data to characterize call volume, drug type and route of administration, geographic distribution, adverse events (overdoses and EMS dispatches), and demographic characteristics of service users, producing an interim funder report by Month 12 and a final outcomes report by Month 18. This evaluation will then be utilized to lobby philanthropic organizations, local, and state governments for follow-on funding.
Plans for long-term project management
Our project is designed with long-term continuity in mind through a deliberately age-diverse leadership team, ensuring that institutional knowledge is transferred organically rather than lost to graduation. Our freshman team member is fully embedded in all phases of project development, from planning and stakeholder engagement to implementation, giving her the depth of experience needed to assume a primary leadership role in the coming years. Her position on the team also serves a strategic recruitment function, as she maintains strong connections with younger students who are interested in volunteering and becoming future contributors to the project. As she advances through school, she will be well-positioned to mentor and train the next cohort of leaders using the same embedded approach that has prepared her. This layered model of leadership development means that no single graduation cycle will disrupt project operations, as continuity is built into the everyday structure of the team itself.
Problem statement
Washington faces a severe opioid crisis driven by the isolation of "using alone." On the UW campus, there is a distinct disconnect between our academic training and the practical reality of this epidemic. Students across various disciplines are taught the theory of harm reduction but lack a structured, interdisciplinary space to apply these skills in a way that directly impacts the community.
This project was informed by the critical need to shift from passive learning to active mutual aid and the horrifying statistic that 75% of all overdose deaths occur when a person is using alone. By creating a technology-enabled hotline, we move beyond the status quo of simple Narcan distribution toward a model of community-centered care. We are pushing the boundaries of sustainability by viewing it through the lens of social resilience and human connection. Sustainability at UW shouldn't just be about physical systems; it’s about cultivating resilience and ensuring our community has the tools to support one another through crisis. This "living lab" creates a permanent institutional legacy where students gain the ethical responsibility and practical skills to lead in high-stakes environments, turning our campus into a hub for collaborative, life-saving innovation.
Problem context
While existing UW initiatives like RSOs and campus departments provide vital services, primarily distributing Narcan and offering CPR or overdose response training, they are largely reactive. These resources depend on a second person being physically present to intervene. This project fills a critical gap in the UW ecosystem by acting as a technology-enabled bridge that addresses the danger of "using alone." We complement these existing efforts by providing the proactive infrastructure needed to turn a single-person crisis into an opportunity for mutual aid.
While other groups provide the physical tools, we provide the human connection and real-time monitoring that makes those tools effective. It allows students who have been trained by existing initiatives to apply their skills in a structured, supportive environment. Cultivating resilience in this way ensures that the UW campus doesn’t just house resources, but fosters an active community of care where students take ethical responsibility for one another, creating a more sustainable and compassionate institutional legacy.
Measure the impacts
| Impact / goal | Metric(s) of success | UW stakeholders impacted |
|---|---|---|
| Expand access to harm reduction services for UW and Seattle-area community members who use drugs alone | We project a minimum of 1,000 service calls in our first year of operation, scaling to 3,000 or more by Year 3 as community awareness grows. We further project at least 50 overdose intervention events over the project period. | Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni, Academic staff, Admin staff |
| Cultivate a harm reduction-informed campus culture through education, volunteer training, and outreach | The project will train a minimum of 25 student volunteers as peer operators. We will host at least eight naloxone training sessions reaching an estimated 200 or more participants. Social media outreach is projected to reach over 5,000 individuals. | Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni, Academic staff, Admin staff |
| Generate and disseminate original public health research that advances UW's mission around health equity | We will produce at least one peer-reviewed publication and present our research in poster form at multiple symposiums reaching an estimated 300 people. | Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni, Academic staff, Admin staff |
Communication tactics and tools
Our primary communication tactics mirror those used by established UW student organizations, leveraging both digital and in-person channels to maximize reach. Instagram will serve as our main public-facing platform, using algorithm-driven engagement to circulate informative content, milestone updates, and volunteer recruitment posts to like-minded student communities. Physical flyering, tabling at campus events, and faculty email list outreach to departments including Public Health, Social Work, and ADAI will reinforce awareness and drive volunteer interest. Once community members are engaged, ongoing communication will be consolidated through email lists and Discord to maintain a secure, open channel for updates, volunteer coordination, and project news. As the project progresses into its operational phases, we will expand outreach by partnering with WA harm reduction agencies, syringe service programs, and community health organizations to cross-promote the hotline and amplify our reach beyond campus. Findings from our Phase 4 evaluation will be presented at UW seminars and student conferences, and a policy brief will be disseminated to relevant stakeholders. Naloxone training events conducted throughout the project will also serve as community touchpoints, raising awareness of both the hotline and volunteer opportunities available to UW students.
Outreach communication plan
We will communicate project updates through Instagram, Discord, and departmental email lists targeting students and faculty in the Schools of Public Health and Social Work, the ADAI, and other similar programs. UW students will be actively recruited as operators, with opportunities promoted through these channels as the project scales. As milestones are reached and data is collected, findings will be shared in engaging posts and presented at UW seminars and conferences. UW community members stand to benefit directly from the implementation lessons, outcome data, and experience our project generates, contributing to a more engaged community around the opioid crisis.
Student involvement
Our hotline will require volunteers across a variety of disciplines, including public health, social work, psychology, and pre-medical programs. A training program covering harm reduction principles, overdose response, and call platform operation will be in place prior to launch, providing students with substantive, resume-building experience in a real-world public health setting. Volunteers will work directly with community members, gaining skills in crisis support and harm reduction that complement their academic training. As the project matures, students will have opportunities to contribute to our Phase 4 evaluation and co-author findings, creating a pathway from volunteering into applied research and professional development.