Get Involved

Become a Thought Partner

Partner with us to produce thought leadership that moves the needle on behavioral healthcare.

Other options to get involved

Thank you!

We received your information and will be in contact soon!

More Think Work

Get Involved

Engage Us as Consultants

Need help building capacity within your organization to drive transformational change in behavioral health? Contact us to learn more about our services available on a sliding fee scale.

Other options to get involved

Thank you!

We reiceived your information and will be in contact soon!

More Think Work

Get Involved

Seeking Support

Select from one of the funding opportunities below to learn more or apply.

Other options to get involved

Grantmaking

We fund organizations and projects which disrupt our current behavioral health space and create impact at the individual, organizational, and societal levels.

Participatory Funds

Our participatory funds alter traditional grantmaking by shifting power
to impacted communities to direct resources and make funding decisions.

Special Grant Programs

We build public and private partnerships to administer grant dollars toward targeted programs.

Program Related Investments

We provide funds at below-market interest rates that can be particularly useful to start, grow, or sustain a program, or when results cannot be achieved with grant dollars alone.

Get Involved

Tia Burroughs Clayton, MSS
Learning and Community Impact Consultant

Add some text here

Alyson Ferguson, MPH
Chief Operating Officer

Contact Alyson about grantmaking, program related investments, and the paper series.

Vivian Figueredo, MPA
Learning and Community Impact Consultant

Derrick M. Gordon, PhD
Learning and Community Impact Consultant

Add some text here

Georgia Kioukis, PhD
Learning and Community Impact Consultant

Add some text here

Samantha Matlin, PhD
Senior Learning & Community Impact Consultant

Contact Samantha about program planning and evaluation consulting services.

Caitlin O'Brien, MPH
Director of Learning & Community Impact

Contact Caitlin about the Community Fund for Immigrant Wellness, the Annual Innovation Award, and trauma-informed programming.

Joe Pyle, MA
President

Contact Joe about partnership opportunities, thought leadership, and the Foundation’s property.

Nadia Ward, MEd, PhD
Learning and Community Impact Consultant

Add some text here

Bridget Talone, MFA
Grants Manager for Learning and Community Impact

Add some text here

Hitomi Yoshida, MSEd
Graduate Fellow

Add some text here

Ashley Feuer-Edwards, MPA
Learning and Community Impact Consultant

Add some text here

Community Innovation Partnership Advocacy Program

Sonoran Prevention Works

Community Innovation Partnership Advocacy Program Logo

Program Website
Year:
2018
State:
Arizona
Winner Status:
Applicant
Program Type:
Awareness
Target Population:
Individuals with a Substance Use Disorder
Setting:
Community

Program Description

Sonoran Prevention Work’s (SPW) mission is to end health disparities faced by those made vulnerable by drug use and other high-risk behaviors in Arizona through harm reduction focused education, advocacy, and evidence-based programming. SPW operates the state’s largest overdose prevention program, where we provide free education and resources to behavioral health agencies, hospitals, law enforcement, family members, and people who are at risk for overdose. Our overdose prevention program spans the entire state, including many Native American reservations. The governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey has declared the state’s opioid crisis a public health emergency. In the last six months of 2017, there were over 4,914 suspected opioid overdoses, with at least 716 suspected opioid overdose deaths. SPW is diligently working on all fronts (advocacy, education, and community-based outreach) to facilitate harm reduction strategies to counter the alarming increase of opioid overdoses and deaths. We accomplished many goals in 2017: Executive Director Haley Coles named Robert Wood Johnson Culture of Health Leader Nominated by Protecting Arizona’s Family Coalition, for Executive Director for the Emerging Leaders Awards Facilitated overdose prevention training workshops in every county Trained over 100 organizations including law enforcement providers and health professionals Featured on Listen Family Values Radio

Creativity

Since 2014, Sonoran Prevention Works has implemented efforts to improve health equity for vulnerable Arizonans, prevent overdose deaths and the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C through unsafe drug use and prevent trauma for people who use drugs. In Arizona, there is an ugly problem with health care and preventive health. Every indication shows that HIV risk and transmission rates are rising at the same time that opioid prescribing, drug dependence, prescription misuse, and overdose deaths increase in the state, causing many new individuals to be at risk for HIV, hepatitis C, injection related wounds, criminalization, and death. In order to address this specific issue, we will: Enroll individuals at each of our trainings into our advocacy database Create an advocacy constituent network to advertise our work and offer information

Leadership

With your funding support, the Community Innovation Advocacy Partnership program will act as the necessary convener and engager to connect and enhance additional resources, build relational capacity and increase the community base of knowledge and skills in order to move towards significant progress in harm reduction strategies focused on an integrated statewide action plan. Information will be disseminated via: Partnerships and trainings with key local community stakeholders and influencers to raise awareness of issues relating to syringe access. Leverage existing relationships to identify leaders in law enforcement, public health, county governance, city government, etc. Create local teams made up of leaders, stakeholders, and residents to identify best course of action for each community. Target local media and social media with information about syringe access, localized data around substance use and HIV/AIDS. Continue to maintain and enhance our partnership with the National Harm Reduction Coalition

Sustainability

SPW has built relationships with organizations, local officials, and other stakeholders throughout the state to influence behavioral health change and attitudes for people at risk for and living with HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C due to injection drug use. SPW has had representation on the Department of Health Services’ Injury Prevention Advisory Council, Governor’s 2016 Substance Abuse Task Force, and the Governor’s 2017 Goal Council on Opioids. SPW was instrumental in introducing and passing the naloxone access law in 2016 and has existing relationships with Arizona Pharmacy Association, AZ Chapter of National Association of Social Workers, and Arizona Public Health Association. As the sole vendor of the statewide naloxone program funded by AHCCCS (state Medicaid office), we have had the opportunity to build relationships with diverse stakeholders in every county. Our partners are committed to program sustainability and capacity building via the identification of current and future sources of funding.

Replicability

SPW has advocates from many different walks of life, including parents, law enforcement, people who use drugs, people in recovery, and faith leaders. Collaborative partnerships focus on overdose prevention, healthy communities, and free syringe access. Sonoran Prevention Works with agencies such as Shot in the Dark, Local First, TERROS, Ebony House, Native American Connections and Intertribal Council. As the sole vendor of the statewide naloxone program funded by AHCCCS (state Medicaid office), we have had the opportunity to build relationships and partnerships with diverse stakeholders in every county of the state. We will work with many other groups that we currently and formerly have partnered with in order to leverage program duplication, facilitate train the trainer workshops, and encourage other institutions to adopt our best practices model.

Results/Outcomes

In order to impact change to improve overall behavioral health attitudes in communities, we put forth a framework focused on overdose prevention and therapeutic engagement practices via: Increased training of community leaders, law enforcement professionals, health care providers, first responders, and general public in overdose prevention and response Reduction of vulnerabilities that impact communities affected by drug abuse Increased partnerships and collaborative relationships Increased identification, dissemination, and utilization of best practices and support services Increased education of Arizonans on the importance of quality access to health care & coverage Increased introduction and awareness of the root causes and elements of drug abuse via the collection of data and outcome measurement strategies. Increased access to all counties, specifically the ones with highest rates of substance use, overdose, opioid misuse, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis C, in order to facilitate meetings with health department leads responsible for infectious disease to gain support.