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PEAR SUITE AND ZERO OVERDOSE JOIN HANDS TO COMBAT THE OVERDOSE EPIDEMIC

TILLSON, N.Y., April 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Zero Overdose, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing overdose events and deaths, is pleased to announce its partnership with Pear Suite, a healthcare company working to empower community health workers (CHWs) to better address social determinants of health (SDOH). This collaboration marks a significant step forward in training individuals, providers and communities to prevent overdose events.

The partnership between Zero Overdose and Pear Suite comes as a response to the urgent need for comprehensive solutions to address the growing behavioral health needs being cared for by community providers.

Pear Suite CEO Colby Takeda shared his excitement about the collaboration, emphasizing “Community health workers are on the frontlines, tirelessly working with clients to bridge the gap between health and social challenges. This partnership will equip thousands of community health workers in our network with invaluable resources and knowledge, empowering them to combat the overdose epidemic and save lives.”

Zero Overdose and Pear Suite will combine their expertise to provide training to thousands of community health workers and other HCBS (Home and Community-Based Services) providers across the country. The primary objectives are to enhance motivational interviewing and counseling skills, improve job satisfaction, and expand access to important health information. Training topics include de-escalation, suicide safer care, overdose safety planning and harm reduction.

Tom McCary, Co-founder of Zero Overdose, “This is exactly the kind of partnership Zero Overdose is designed for, bringing skills and tools to individuals on the front lines.”

Together, Zero Overdose and Pear Suite are committed to making a meaningful impact in the lives of individuals affected by substance abuse and overdose.

About Pear Suite:
Pear Suite is a digital health company that empowers community health workers with its social care navigation platform. With the Pear Suite platform, health plans, providers, and community-based organizations can boost client engagement, improve health outcomes, and reduce the cost of care in a person-centered, culturally, and linguistically sensitive way. Pear Suite has supported dozens of organizations and impacted more than 25,000 lives. For more information, please visit pearsuite.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Zero Overdose:
Zero Overdose is a nonprofit organization committed to preventing overdose events and deaths through use of overdose safety planning, advocacy, education, and community outreach initiatives. For more information visit www.ZeroOverdose.org

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Administrative Assistant

Blayne Bonfoco

Blayne Bonfoco has a variety of experience in multiple industries, spanning a career of almost 30 years. Throughout her career, Blayne has explored Tourism, Hospitality, Wine Country, Food and Beverage, Fitness, Wellness, Retail, Service, and most recently Personal Development and Education.

At first, a step into Hospitality and tourism landed Blayne in Niagara Falls, as Concierge at a Renaissance hotel; there, she was able to apply her passion for languages, improving her French and Japanese communication skills with clients, while simultaneously serving people who had questions about the local area.

After several seasons at Niagara Falls, Niagara Wine Country called, as this was where she grew up; Blayne transitioned into a role at a local winery in the Retail shop, which soon turned into taking on a lead role in developing the Home Delivery program and growing that to almost 1000 participants monthly over 6 years. She continued to use her language skills to serve the winery and thrived in the team environment.

After a decision with her husband to open their own business, Blayne worked at a local women’s only fitness facility to gain experience before investing and opening one herself. Subsequently, Blayne and her husband opened a Martial Arts Academy, which they successfully operated for 15 years. Blayne’s focus on personal development lead her to dedicate her energy towards supporting, growing and serving their various programs. Her success in positively impacting her students fuelled her desire to expand her professional experience and motivated her to pursue a path with the Canadian National Kickboxing team, serving as Assistant Coach then Head Coach for six years.

Blayne is passionate about teamwork and the pursuit of growth, believing that every person should be encouraged and respected to thrive in their lives.

In 2020, Blayne and her husband closed their Martial Arts Programs and relocated to Belize with their first-born son; this change in location has provided her and her family with time to experience life in new ways while raising their son.

Blayne’s recent entry into the non-for-profit sector, in particular working in addition support and rehabilitation, is an inspiring one for her; she is passionate about her support role with Zero Overdose, and is looking forward to helping the entire team make a difference in addiction prevention.

Trainer

Leah Harris,
MA

Leah Harris, M.A. possesses over two decades of experience writing, speaking, and training on trauma, mental health, addiction, harm reduction, suicide prevention, and resilience. Leah’s work is heavily informed by her lived experiences, and she is especially passionate about the integration of peer support, trauma-informed care, and person-centered approaches into all aspects of public health, human services, educational settings, and community programs. She has provided training, curriculum development, and technical assistance with the National Empowerment Center, SAMHSA’s National Center for Trauma Informed Care (NCTIC), and the National Association for State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD).

Consulting with the Mental Health Association of San Francisco, Leah developed a pilot curriculum for suicide attempt survivors to share their stories using an effective public health framework, and helped author The Way Forward: Pathways to Hope, Recovery, and Wellness with Insights from Lived Experience for the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. She is a faculty member with the Zero Suicide Institute and the Institute for Development of Human Arts, and is thrilled to join the Zero Overdose team as a trainer.

Strategy and Development Advisor

Jorge Petit,
MD

Board-certified psychiatrist with over three decades in the public healthcare sector. Throughout my journey, I have steered progressively intricate systems of care, orchestrating the achievement of enduring and systemic enhancements in essential service accessibility and provision. I am inherently results-oriented, driven by a relentless pursuit of innovation, and bring a bilingual and bicultural dimension to my leadership. My experience includes navigating and guiding organizational expansion and transformation, consistently yielding positive outcomes.

A hallmark of my expertise lies in developing and implementing high-caliber, quality-driven programs that crystallize into a cohesive, person-centric model of care, deeply embedded within the community fabric. I stand as testament to my ability to produce outcomes that transcend the boundaries of conventional care, fostering an environment where integration is paramount and the individual is at the heart of every endeavor.