When the Tri-County Overdose Prevention Partnership formed in 2016, the group aimed to battle the opioid epidemic from every angle.

Members drafted a plan in which workgroups would focus on six key areas: youth prevention, public awareness, provider education, safe disposal, harm reduction and treatment.

Addressing the opioid epidemic from so many facets is “the only approach,” said Arapahoe County Commissioner Bill Holen, adding that the size of the problem will require collaboration from many partners at the state and local level. Holen was a key figure in bringing the partnership together in 2016.

The partnership, also known as TCOPP, has formed four youth coalitions in the Denver metro area where kids promote education about drug addiction in schools and among their peers. The hope is to stop drug addiction before it can begin by better educating young people on substances.

Zac Hess, director of health, wellness and prevention for the Douglas County School District, said the Douglas County Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition’s most positive impact has been giving students leadership roles in substance-use prevention work. But it has also helped the district forge connections with other community organizations tackling substance-use issues.

“We really see the value of being part of the coalition and being a strong community partner,” Hess said. “We really value all the relationships that we’re making.”

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In March 2017, the partnership received a state grant to try to influence how medical providers prescribe drugs in Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties. They held three events — in Aurora, Thornton and Lone Tree.

The events gathered an estimated 164 people for presentations on safe opioid-prescribing practices, medication-assisted treatment and alternatives to opioids for pain management.

TCOPP also helped sponsor training conducted by the Colorado Opioid Safety Project, which is run by the Colorado Hospital Association in collaboration with the Colorado Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, and promotes opioid alternatives in emergency departments.

Piloted in 10 emergency departments in 2017, the project generated a 40 percent reduction in opioid prescriptions, according to a September report from TCOPP. To help train more providers, TCOPP sponsored the filming of the training so it could be shared with rural hospitals and physicians.

Steve Martinez, substance use prevention coordinator with Tri-County Health Department, said providers are prescribing opioids in smaller amounts, starting new opioid users on a three-day supply rather sending them home with a bottle of 180 pills, for example.

“That’s huge,” Martinez said. “Because of the addictive nature of prescription painkillers, the evidence shows that the less amount of time a person is on opioids the less likely they are to become dependent.”

When it came to safe disposal sites, the partnership’s mission was clear: create many, many more.

Holen likened addressing the opioid epidemic to fighting fires with a garden hose, in part because of the drugs’ availability.

Nearly six in 10 Americans have leftover opiates at home, and about 20 percent have shared those with another person, according to the National Safety Council, a nonprofit that works to reduce preventable deaths.

The state runs a medication take-back program that establishes permanent medication take-back sites throughout Colorado. The Colorado Household Medication Take-Back Program aims to have at least one permanent take-back location in every Colorado county, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment website.

TCOPP encourages local law enforcement agencies and pharmacies to participate in the program. As of September, TCOPP knew of 24 permanent medication disposal sites in its three counties, some independently run and some run through the state program.

It believes seven were created as a direct result of its advocacy efforts.

Before the partnership began, the number of safe-disposal sites was in the “single digits,” said Maura Proser with Tri-County Health Department.

TCOPP members working on public awareness have held a number of events, including trainings on how to use Narcan and distributing dozens of Narcan kits to event attendees. Narcan is a common trade name for naloxone, available as a nasal spray. It can reverse an overdose, although those who use it should still seek medical attention immediately.

As of September, TCOPP reported 16 of the 22 law enforcement agencies in its counties carry naloxone in patrol cars. It is available in all three county jails.

Since 2016, the Aurora Syringe Access Services, a TCOPP member providing education and sterile syringes to people who inject drugs to prevent the spread of infections, has distributed 338 Narcan kits to the public.

The partnership’s “treatment workgroup” is its newest. Formed in October, the workgroup plans to identify gaps in treatment throughout the Denver metro area.