Southern Illinois Overdose Fatality Review Collaborative

Community Members & Providers

If you would like to participate as a team member, you can apply to join by clicking the button below.

The Mission of the Southern Illinois OFR Collaborative

The Southern Illinois Overdose Fatality Review Collaborative unites professionals, community members, and people with lived experience to honor the lives lost to overdose by learning from each story, identifying service gaps, and turning lessons into action. Grounded in respect, confidentiality, and collaboration, we work to strengthen prevention, expand access to care, and save lives across southern Illinois communities.

Families and Loved Ones

If you have lost someone to overdose and would like their story included in a review, you can submit a review request by clicking the button below.

Overdose Fatality Review Team FAQs

  • The Southern Illinois OFR Collaborative is a group of professionals and community members who come together to review overdose fatalities in our region. This team does not do investigations--- we review circumstances leading up to and surrounding overdose deaths to better understand what happened, identify gaps in services, and strengthen prevention efforts in our communities.

  • The OFRT includes people from many different areas of the community such as:

    • Public health and healthcare providers

    • Behavioral health, recovery services, and community organizations

    • Law enforcement, EMS, and coroners

    • People with lived experience and family members

  • Every overdose fatality represents a story that ended too soon. By carefully reviewing these losses, we can:

    • Learn from each life, understanding struggles, strengths, and barriers.

    • Identify gaps in services, where people couldn’t get the help they needed.

    • Strengthen prevention efforts, such as expanding naloxone, treatment, and recovery supports.

    • Save lives by turning lessons into action.

    • Respect: We honor the dignity of every person who has died from overdose.

    • Confidentiality: Information shared is private and used only to improve prevention.

    • Community action: Findings and recommendations are shared with leaders and organizations to make real changes that matter.