Chapter of the Week: Long Beach

End Overdose's chapter program is vital to our success in equipping young people with lifesaving education and resources. In cities and on college campuses, we trust them to spread the word through a true peer-to-peer model. Our members and volunteers are committing endless hours to End Overdose's cause, so we want to highlight a chapter every week.

Today, we're proud to highlight our Long Beach chapter! We spoke with president Meagan Barrera about the effort that goes into starting an End Overdose chapter, conducting outreach everywhere from Greek life to punk rock shows, and her vision for a safer, healthier Long Beach.

What sparked your interest in overdose prevention/response and End Overdose in particular?

I’ve gained an interest in overdose prevention and response over the course of the years. From working in the LB health department with their Harm Reduction Distribution Program, to volunteering at festivals and in nightlife through End Overdose, to now working as a Substance Use Navigator at a hospital, I am surrounded by people who have been and are still currently affected by the opioid epidemic. I hear stories from people of all backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, etc. and I feel for them. I empathize for their situation, and I do my best to be the bridge between their struggles and a solution. My mom’s always been one to say follow your passion, and work won’t ever feel like work, and she’s right. The work I do with End Overdose has ignited my passion in overdose prevention, and it’s grown stronger every day.

Can you describe your experience as the chapter president?

Starting a chapter is hard. I have so many ideas that I’d like to see come to fruition, but I’m limited to my own mind and capabilities. Luckily, I have a solid and supportive leadership team, who put their foot forward and help in anyway they can. They help bring these ideas to life. Recently, I have added two people to our leadership as of recently: Shaina Truong, our marketing lead, and Raymond Macias, our outreach lead. I’m excited to see how their contributions will shape our chapter! Where our chapter is now would be nothing without my leadership team, so everyone, including myself, have them to thank.

What are the major highlights from your chapter’s work to date?

One thing about my chapter is that we go where people tell us to go. Driving from our personal and professional experience, we always make a habit to listen to people’s stories, and understand where the people of our community think needs our resources, and we act on that. We’ve since multiple pop-ups in the punk rock community, as well as university Greek life. We recently did outreach at one of the largest curated markets in Long Beach and hope to continue doing outreach at community events around our city.

What do you envision for the future of your chapter?

I would love for my chapter to grow into all communities. I would love to eventually train treatment centers, local government services high schools, and more. I would also like to eventually train most bar staff near Long Beach to keep our nightlife safe. I have all these ideas that I’d love to one day build upon, but overall, I would like for my chapter to kickstart a local campaign that highlights that overdose can happen to anyone anywhere, and because of that, I’d want naloxone to be easily accessible everywhere. There is nothing wrong with being prepared in case something were to happen, and I’d like for us to work on getting people to not only see that, but understand it as well.