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The Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities (the Alliance), which supports 21 coalitions in Oakland County, MI, launched a zero-barrier access program in 2024 to make overdose prevention tools accessible to all community members. Across Oakland County, 105+ Save A Life Stations provide community members with zero-barrier access to prevention resources including naloxone, testing strips, and the Deterra® Drug Deactivation and Disposal System. In the first nine months, more than 5,000 Deterra Pouches were distributed as part of the initiative. During the same period, Oakland County experienced a 36.9% reduction in fatal overdoses compared to the same timeframe in 2023, alongside expanded community access to prevention and recovery resources. After seeing strong community engagement and impact, the Alliance expanded its efforts in 2025 by implementing Deterra’s Household Prevention Program to 10,000 households to further reach rural and farming communities.
Save A Life Stations
The 105+ Save A Life Stations are strategically located across Oakland County in hospitals, recovery centers, community areas and law enforcement stations. Pouches are also distributed to the Alliance’s 21 coalitions and directly to community members.
The Alliance is the first organization in Michigan to provide Deterra for at-home medication deactivation, beginning in early 2016. Since then, the Alliance has integrated at-home medication deactivation and disposal into innovative programming for youth, seniors and the wider community.
“Everything we do is data-driven and very collaborative,” says Julie Brenner, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Alliance. “We work together with schools, law enforcement, senior centers, and peer navigators to connect people to overdose prevention tools like Deterra and naloxone.”
Brenner notes that, in addition to preventing misuse and overdoses, Deterra has a positive impact on the environment by preventing unused drugs from entering landfills and waterways.
Reaching Rural Communities through Deterra’s Household Prevention Program
To further reach rural and farming communities, the Alliance launched a Household Prevention Program delivering 10,000 Deterra Pouches and prevention resources directly to residents’ homes.
The initiative focused on zip codes in rural Oakland County where residents have limited access to permanent drug take-back boxes and seasonal collection events. It provided a convenient, year-round at-home disposal option using Deterra’s patented Direct Mail Pouch enclosed with an educational resource card providing local resources.
The Alliance designed the program to reduce barriers to prevention resources during busy agricultural seasons when on-site collection events may be less accessible.
Since the zero barriers program launched in 2024, Oakland County has safely deactivated more than 500,000 unused and unwanted pills and seen a 36.9% decrease in overdose deaths and a nearly 20% reduction in non-fatal overdoses. Each Save A Life Station receives 50 Deterra Large Pouches (LP) monthly — enough to deactivate up to 54,000 pills annually. After launching the Household Prevention Program, there is potential to safely deactivate up to 450,000 unused and unwanted pills directly from the comfort of residents’ homes.
The Alliance, which is funded through community mental health authorities and federal grants, has become a model for other organizations combating substance misuse and conducts trainings in multiple states to share its programming and best practices.
It has made an immense impact in Oakland County and Southeast Michigan. The organization continues to explore new and expanded ways to enhance community access to prevention and recovery support.
Visit DeterraSystem.com/government to explore how other organizations are using Deterra or reach out to (612) 568-1128 or Sales@DeterraSystem.com to discuss how to implement at-home drug disposal initiatives in your community.
