NEXT’s Timeline
NEXT Distro has a rich history of partnership, shared national vision, and aligned values. You can learn about the history of our mail-based harm reduction movement here.
November 2016
Tracey Helton gives a presentation on her work mailing naloxone to people who could not access it at the National Harm Reduction Conference called Radical Harm Reduction: Our Only Choice is Civil Disobedience. Inspired by the idea of using Tracey’s model and bringing it online, audience member Jamie Favaro develops a draft project plan.
September 2017
Jamie Favaro approaches the New York State Department of Health about developing an online and mail-based syringe access service as a formal state-waivered program.
January 2018
Landing page at nextdistro.com goes live.
February 2018
NEXT mails our first full-service harm reduction package to rural Tennessee.
March 2018
NEXT Distro is originally registered as an LLC in an effort to develop a harm reduction program that is focused away from the non-profit industrial complex. Begins applications for start-up incubators such as Y Combinator.
May 2018
NEXT receives its first funding from the H. van Ameringen Foundation.
Jamie presents on NEXT Distro’s model for the Drug Policy Alliance sponsored conference Drug Use In Upstate New York: Strategies for Change and Reducing the Harms.
June 2018
National Harm Reduction Coalition provides fiscal conduitship for NEXT while we apply for our 501c3 status.
July 2018
Thanks to the support of volunteer Medical Director Bruce Trigg, NEXT becomes an Opioid Overdose Prevention Program in NYS enabling us to begin naloxone mailing across the state.
August 2018
NEXT develops a 4-minute opioid overdose response training used for our mail-based naloxone program.
October 2018
Jamie Favaro presents with Founding Board Members Tracey Helton and Tino Fuentes on Radical Harm Reduction at the National Harm Reduction Conference in New Orleans. Her talk is titled: From Inspiration to Action: Operationalizing Nationwide Mail-based Distribution.
November 2018
Through a partnership with The DOPE Project, California becomes NEXT’s first affiliated state. NEXT begins a pilot support service connecting program participants with a nurse practitioner to support questions around their health.
December 2018
Because naloxone and harm reduction supply distribution is state-specific, NEXT develops the harm reduction 'hub and spoke' concept to expand nationally and creates the first Affiliate Support Documents. The hub and spoke model enables NEXT to utilize a central website for supply ordering with state-specific harm reduction organizations providing distribution of those supplies to requesters in their own state.
January 2019
NEXT launches the website naloxoneforall.org the site includes a bilingual opioid overdose reversal training and naloxone mailing program. The Naloxone For All site is NEXT's answer to providing support for individuals who want naloxone only.
Utah Naloxone joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Utah.
Central Arkansas Harm Reduction Project joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Arkansas.
Open Aid Alliance joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Montana.
February 2019
Carol Yang joins the NEXT team in the position of Program Director. Carol begins coding data and creating reports about NEXT’s impact.
Jamie presents at the Southern Syringe Services Conference in Nashville TN.
Harm Reduction Ohio joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Ohio.
March 2019
The first news article about NEXT written by Maia Szalavitz is published in VICE: How One Group is Expanding Access to Overdose-Reversing Drugs Through the Mail.
NEXT receives approval from the New York State Department of Health to operate the first statewide mail-based syringe service program in the United States.
With the support of Jeremiah Lindmann, NEXT begins geospatial analysis using ESRI ArcGIS.
North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of North Carolina.
Chris Atwood Foundation joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Virginia.
Texas Harm Reduction Alliance joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Texas.
April 2019
Jamie presents the poster Online and Mail-based Harm Reduction: Building Next Harm Reduction in the United States at the International Harm Reduction Conference in Porto, Portugal.
Grand Rapids Red Project joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Michigan.
Connecticut Harm Reduction Alliance (previously Greater Hartford Harm Reduction Coalition) joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Connecticut.
Iowa Harm Reduction Coalition joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Iowa.
Trac-B joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Nevada.
May 2019
NEXT applies for 501c3 status.
MO Network joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Missouri.
Maine Access Points joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Maine.
SOL Collective joins NEXT as the affiliate for naloxone distribution in the city of Philadelphia. Because naloxone access channels in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia are specific, statewide distribution continues to be held by NEXT’s NYC office.
Idaho Harm Reduction Project joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Idaho.
NEXT adds safer smoking supplies to the menu of harm reduction items available through our ordering system.
June 2019
Indiana Recovery Alliance joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Indiana.
After several months of working with Reframe Health & Justice, NEXT publishes it's BIPOC Workplan. The workplan focuses on three sections: Leadership & Culture, Representation & Support Systems, and Infrastructure & Resource Allocation. Published in both English and Spanish, the workplan is open access in .doc form and allows anyone from the public to comment.
July 2019
Trystereo joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Louisiana.
Harm Reduction Sisters joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Minnesota.
Harm Reduction Action Center joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Colorado.
SHOTS (Stop Harm on Tulsa Streets) joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Oklahoma.
August 2019
NEXT revamps its naloxone website naloxoneforall.org by creating a state by state naloxone resource. Over 40 US states are built out to include naloxone access points in their own state.
With the support of harm reduction expert Kat Humphries, NEXT launches a Resource Library. The Resource Library works to consolidate the collective wisdom of the harm reduction community and includes sections such as Safer Drug Use, Overdose, Drug User Unions, Sexual & Reproductive Health, and Wound Care.
October 2019
NEXT brings on Jose Martinez to provide shipping support.
November 2019
At the Drug Policy Alliance Conference, NEXT holds an affinity meeting for affiliate partners and organizations interested in becoming affiliates.
December 2019
Florida activists join NEXT to support naloxone distribution across the state of Florida.
January 2020
Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Maryland.
Hawai'i Health & Harm Reduction Center joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Hawai'i.
February 2020
NEXT partners with HEPPAC in Oakland to expand both full-service and naloxone distribution services across the state of California.
March 2020
NEXT hires Dan Coello into the role of Program Director. This is NEXT’s second staff position.
New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of New Jersey
April 2020
Prevention Point Pittsburgh joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Pennsylvania. Naloxone orders within Philadelphia continued to be managed by SOL Collective.
HEPPAC in Oakland becomes NEXT’s first full-service affiliate program serving the entire state of California with mail-based harm reduction services.
May 2020
With support from Chicago Recovery Alliance, Point2Point joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Illinois.
June 2020
Southern West Virginia Harm Reduction joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of West Virginia.
Georgia Overdose Prevention joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Georgia.
With support from the Comer Foundation, NEXT pilots a southern shipping hub in partnership with Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition.
July 2020
Trystereo launches full-service harm reduction services across the state of Louisiana.
Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Kentucky.
November 2020
In partnership with the Network for Public Health Law, NEXT launches nextdistro.org/policies, a state by state policy tool that is accessible for a variety of reading levels.
Delaware Department of Health and Social Services joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Delaware.
January 2021
Grand Rapids Red Project launches full-service harm reduction services across the state of Michigan.
Open Aid Alliance joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Montana.
The first scholarly journal publication about NEXT is published. NEXT Harm Reduction: An Online, Mail-Based Naloxone Distribution and Harm-Reduction Program (Yang, et al.) is published in the American Journal of Public Health.
March 2021
The Journal of Urban Health publishes Harm Reduction, By Mail: the Next Step in Promoting the Health of People Who Use Drugs (Hayes, et al.)
The NEXT Team in collaboration with the National (NASTAD) presents on Expanding Harm Reduction Access Using Online and Mail-based Services.
NEXT transitions California affiliateship to Berkeley NEED.
An organization comprised of many SHOTS members (see July, 2019) called Oklahoma Harm Reduction Alliance is focused on serving the entire state of Oklahoma and takes over the statewide naloxone mailing program.
May 2021
NEXT works with professional photographer Scott Heins to develop an open source library of harm reduction supply photos.
June 2021
The American Journal of Public Health publishes Expanding Mail-Based Distribution of Drug-Related Harm Reduction Supplies Amid COVID-19 and Beyond (Barnett, et al.)
With support from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, launches a resource expansion project. The resources are spearheaded by content experts Luna Suescun and Kevin Garcia.
August 2021
Oklahoma Harm Reduction Alliance launches full-service harm reduction services across the state of Oklahoma.
International Journal of Drug Policy publishes A Free Mailed Naloxone Program in Philadelphia amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic (French et al.)
Journal of Urban Health publishes Harm Reduction, By Mail: the Next Step in Promoting the Health of People Who Use Drugs (Hayes, et al.)
September 2021
Trac-B partners with NEXT to support their pre-existing full-service harm reduction services across the state of Nevada.
October 2021
Journal of Substance Use publishes NEXT: description, rationale, and evaluation of a novel internet-based mail-delivered syringe service program (Hayes et al.)
November 2021
Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition expands their mailing services to include fentanyl test strip mailings for individuals and organizations across the state.
January 2022
The International Journal of Drug Policy publishes Participants of a mail delivery syringe services program are underserved by other safe sources for sterile injection supplies (Hayes, et al.)
March 2022
Florida Harm Reduction Collective joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Florida
September 2022
Grand Forks Public Health joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of North Dakota.
The National Institutes of Health awards Principal Investigator Dr. Czarina Navos Behrends for her proposal Expansion of Mail-Delivered Harm Reduction Services in the U.S. which focuses on studying NEXT’s mail-based service and policy barriers that prevent the expansion of mail-based harm reduction.
October 2022
NEXT attends the 13th Annual Harm Reduction Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Dan Coello, Jamie Favaro, Nial Murphy, Presto Crespo, and Luna Suescun present Meeting People Where We Aren’t Strengths, Challenges, and Nuances of Online and Mail-based Harm Reduction.
November 2022
Gwayakobimaadiziwin Bad River Harm Reduction joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Wisconsin.
NEXT transitions California affiliateship to SANE in Sacramento.
December 2022
Project Red joins NEXT as the statewide affiliate for naloxone distribution across the state of Oregon.
January 2023
The Harm Reduction Journal publishes Remote harm reduction services are key solutions to reduce the impact of COVID-19-like crises on people who use drugs: evidence from two independent structures in France and in the USA (Torres-Leguizamon, et al.)
February 2022
Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition begins offering HRT syringe supply services through the NEXT platform.
May 2023
NEXT holds our first all-team retreat in New York City. The majority of travel and hotel expenses are paid for with credit card reward points.
June 2023
Gwayakobimaadiziwin Bad River Harm Reduction launches full-service harm reduction services across the state of Wisconsin.
September 2023
NEXT posts for the position of Executive Director. Founding Executive Director Jamie Favaro notifies funders and stakeholders that she will be leaving her role several months prior.
October 2023
Jamie Favaro and the NEXT Distro team win the Norman E. Zinberg Award for Achievement in the Field of Medicine at the 2023 International Drug Policy Reform Conference.