
This week is Black Maternal Health Week, a national campaign to bring awareness to the unique challenges and disparities faced by Black mothers and birthing people. As we honor this moment through community events like Nevada’s Maternal Wellness Walk and Kinship Cookout (see flyer below), we also confront the deeper stories too often left out of mainstream maternal health conversations. Stories about chronic pain, invasive treatments, opioid prescriptions, and the pathways they can create toward dependency and substance use disorder.

Nevada continues to face the devastating effects of the opioid crisis, with rising overdose rates, increasing co-occurring mental health challenges, and significant health disparities across communities. The Nevada Opioid Needs Assessment and Statewide Plan identifies Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)—such as trauma, neglect, or family instability—as major risk factors for substance use, opioid use disorder (OUD), and overdose.

The Nevada Opioid Center of Excellence (NOCE) Spring 2025 Newsletter is now available, featuring new trainings, community tools, and on-demand resources to support individuals and organizations working to address opioid use across Nevada.

Every April we celebrate Financial Literacy Month to promote financial education and well-being in the United States. Financial Literacy Month also serves as a reminder that Social Security is a vital part of any financial plan. Online tools are here to help you understand your potential Social Security benefits and how they fit into your financial future.

The Nevada Opioid Center of Excellence (NOCE) recently participated in the L.I.M.A. Community Resource Sharing Meeting, a collaborative event aimed at connecting service providers, law enforcement, and community members to share resources and strengthen support networks for individuals facing substance use disorders, mental health challenges, and homelessness.

Project ECHO Nevada invites you to their upcoming 6 session free series of 60-minute-long teleconference sessions in which providers will have the opportunity to speak with a multidisciplinary team of subject matter experts in the field of SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment health). This ECHO will provide community health professionals with the training and support they need to manage substance use issues within women's health settings using an SBIRT model.