Crisis Averted wins Rep. Kevin Hern’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Oklahoma’s First District

When asked what inspired the creation of Crisis Averted, the students said, “The opioid epidemic takes the lives of 198 Americans every single day, so we wanted to alleviate the devastating impacts of this public health crisis in our own community and across the nation. Unused opioids sitting in medicine cabinets can be extremely dangerous since a highly addictive prescription may fall into the hands of someone who could potentially misuse the drug. In fact, approximately 75% of people who misuse prescription opioids obtain them from friends or family members.  When expired medications are left unsecured in a medication cabinet rather than disposed of properly after their use, it is also easier for children or pets to get access to them and face accidental poisoning. Furthermore, individuals with memory impairments may experience difficulties keeping track of medication expiry dates. One way to address this issue is by ensuring the safe disposal of unused and expired prescription medications from households. 
Traditional disposal methods, such as flushing unused medications down the drain or disposing of them with household waste, allow harmful substances to enter wastewater systems and ecosystems. Opioids such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, and morphine frequently appear in water systems at detectable levels, posing risks to aquatic ecosystems. The most effective and environmentally sustainable practice, as recommended by the FDA, is through drug take-back initiatives. These DEA authorized programs are located at various local pharmacies, law enforcement agencies, hospitals, clinics, and health centers across the state to collect unwanted and expired household medications year-round. These take-back events and collection boxes prevented nearly 300,000 pounds of pharmaceutical waste from entering local landfills, waterways, and ecosystems in our home state of Oklahoma. 

However, less public awareness and visibility of these initiatives hinders widespread success in safe medication disposal. Crisis Averted aims to increase community engagement and education on this topic by providing information about take-back locations, events, medication storage instructions, expiration date notifications, and crisis resources in an accessible, interactive manner. Through our experiences on the Tulsa Opioid Informed Youth Advisory Board and the Gathering Place Youth Action Coalition respectively, we have gained unique insights into state opioid overdose trends, substance use prevention education, environmental conservation, water pollution at Zink Lake, and the multifaceted impacts of this issue. The process of developing Crisis Averted allowed us to share these perspectives to create a more user-friendly, sustainable app. We hope to make our community and planet safer through technological innovation.”