IT’S NOT THE SAME WITHOUT YOU.

The late 2010s – early 2020s saw a dramatic spike in American street narcotics laced with deadly additives, resulting in all but the elimination of an “experimentation phase” for adolescents and young adults that older generations may have experienced in their youth. Recent studies show that old-school abstinence-based outreach programs (such as DARE and Nancy Reagan’s Just Say No) are ineffective at fully curbing curiosity; nonetheless, the dangerous current landscape demands effective education to avoid tragedy. Harm Reduction is one of the key concepts developed to combat the surge in both in addiction and overdose related deaths.

Essentially, harm reduction is education on safe use.

While this may seem counterintuitive to decreasing overall drug usage and it’s toll, studies show that when educated on safe usage, many opt to avoid drugs entirely.

Stopoverdose.org is a harm reduction organization that educates people on the dangers of drug use and helps provide resources and access to life-saving tools such as Naloxone (NARCAN).

“It’s not the same without you”

is a speculative campaign for Stopoverdose.org focused on spreading awareness about the dangers of drug usage and the reality of loss. While young people may feel they only risk harming themselves, the campaign aims to show that the pain of overdose extends beyond the individual. In a time of growing independence, it is easy to imagine that your life belongs only to you. That is incorrect.

It belongs to the people who love you.