In 2021, Rhode Island became the first state to legalize spaces where people can use drugs under the supervision of trained staff. Two years ago, Project Weber/RENEW opened an overdose prevention center in Providence, offering medical supervision and access to treatment and social services. Backed by millions in funding received in legal settlements from the opioid epidemic, the controversial facility has made Rhode Island a national test case for reducing overdose deaths. Ocean State Media reporters visited the center to see whether it's making a difference.
Inside the center, the first stop is a check-in desk. From there, visitors can get something to eat, take a shower, or head upstairs to use drugs under medical supervision. According to Ashley Perry, most visitors go straight for coffee. Perry is the deputy director of the nonprofit Project Weber/RENEW and director of the overdose prevention center. “Coffee is a big thing,” Perry told us. “A lot of people come in, and the first thing they want to do is get coffee or use the bathroom."
From outside, the two-story facility on Willard Street near Rhode Island Hospital looks like a nondescript doctor’s office. Inside, it has a lounge for reading or eating meals, a laundry room, and showers. The second floor is the main space for people to use safely under supervision. The room is sanitized, but they made the effort to create a comfortable space.
Kieshana Dawkins is a harm reduction specialist. She is one of the people who observe clients using drugs and step in when necessary. She led us to a cart loaded with needles, bands, swabs, and almost anything a person will need while they are using. "When someone comes into the overdose prevention center, we give them the supplies that they need,” she told us. "All the clean supplies are here. So whatever it is that they're going to use, we provide that for them. We make sure that everything's clean. We use our gloves."
The overdose prevention room is an open space with smaller adjacent rooms. There is a room for smoking cigarettes. There is another room for folks who may be experiencing emotional trauma and just need to vent or be alone. The center also has individual booths where people can inject drugs under supervision. If someone does overdose, Perry said there's a designated area where staff can respond. "So this is where somebody would end up if they were in an overdose situation,” she told us, pointing to a group of recliners. “Most of the time we are supporting people through their overdose with oxygen. And this is really where a lot of our monitoring happens."
For people who are arriving at the center for the first time, the idea of using drugs legally and in front of strangers and supervisors can be intimidating. Ashley Perry says that it can even be a little scary, but her staff works to make the clients more comfortable. “Our staff does such a great job at welcoming people and saying ‘we’re so happy that you’re here.’ I hear that so many times when people walk through the door, ‘I’m so happy that you’re here.’ I think that really breaks down barriers for folks.”
Since opening in January of last year, the center has served approximately 1,500 people during more than 12,000 visits, according to Perry. She said that staff have intervened in more than 200 overdoses. Those figures are preliminary, and independent researchers are still evaluating the center's effectiveness. The Rhode Island Department of Health reports 219 people died from accidental overdoses in 2025, down more than 33 percent from the previous year. The statewide decline began before the center opened, so researchers have not established how much of that decrease, if any, can be attributed to the facility. But Perry said that she is looking forward to an evaluation from Brown University.
While researchers continue evaluating the center, state officials are also confronting another question: How long can Rhode Island afford to keep it operating? Kathy Schultz, director of the Governor's Overdose Task Force, told us, “The good news is that we have continued to be able to sustain and fund the overdose prevention center through the opioid settlement funds. And as of right now, we have funding through FY28."
While Project Weber/RENEW also receives support from private donors, there is no confirmed long-term funding plan beyond 2028. The state has committed at least $5.5 million in opioid settlement funds to Rhode Island's overdose prevention center this year, according to state financial records.
The center has faced opposition. Critics argue that allowing people to consume illegal drugs under medical supervision could encourage drug use and attract more drug activity to surrounding neighborhoods. Those concerns fueled debate at the State House, where lawmakers voted last year to extend the pilot program. Even some legislators who originally opposed the idea supported giving researchers more time to evaluate its effectiveness.
Perry admitted the center has had to work hard to earn the community's trust. "I don't think that this overdose prevention center brings drug use. I think it changes the way we talk about drug use, and I think it changes the way that we talk about a population of sick and dying people that we should be taking care of."
For Perry, this work is deeply personal. She struggled with opioid addiction herself and says those experiences shaped her understanding of what people need. "And as somebody who was addicted to opioids for a long time,” she said, “and has experienced motherhood through trying to do this and a lot of other things, I've always just known that there's so much more that we could be doing for people."
Perry told the story of a woman whose addiction had left her with a severe infection in her arm. Doctors had warned she might need an amputation. “We've done so many interventions with her in the overdose prevention center. And just a few weeks ago, she came to me and was like, ‘I don't have to amputate my arm,’ which is huge. For so long, the doctors were like, ‘If you don't get sober, if you don't stay in the hospital and be sober in the hospital, we're going to amputate your arm. We're going to amputate your arm.’ And our medical team here has found other ways to help her while she is still in active drug use.”
Perry said that the center can't solve every problem or save everyone who struggles with addiction. "Unfortunately, working in this work, we see so many more losses than we do gains a lot of times.” But after years of working with people at their most vulnerable, she said she's seeing something that gives her hope: “Since opening up this site, I have seen so many more small wins than losses, and that has been really transformative for me as well."
