Max's Mission: Spring Newsletter
- maxsmission
- 3 days ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Spring has settled in, bringing with it a sense of renewal and hope (along with a smidge of inclement weather). At Max’s Mission, that spirit helps fuel the vital work we do. Our team remains deeply committed to naloxone distribution and education, harm reduction outreach and peer support efforts in Jackson, Josephine and Klamath counties. We continue to serve a growing number of participants during our daily outreach and witness the impact of our efforts firsthand. In particular, we’ve seen a significant increase in opioid overdose reversals, thousands of used syringes recovered (and disposed of safely) and our Peer Support Specialists taking on new cases weekly. We've also continued to expand our network of NaloxBoxes in Southern Oregon, adding two new boxes last month.
We're also excited to announce the date for this year’s Overdose Awareness Day - Saturday, September 27, 2025, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Hawthorne Park in Medford. This annual gathering is a powerful opportunity for remembrance, education, and connection with many helpful, local services, and we hope you’ll mark your calendar and plan to join us.
Table of Contents
(Click any of the headings to quick-jump to a specific topic).
Max's Mission Monthly Employee Spotlight
We’d like to introduce you to some of the people here at Max’s Mission. Each month we’ll feature a member of our staff or spotlight the recent accomplishments of one of our team members. We hope you enjoy learning about them as much as we have! We begin with Klamath Falls Harm Reduction Specialist Ryan Lobdell.
Ryan Lobdell has been a vital part of Max’s Mission’s Klamath Falls team for roughly two years. During that time he has become an indispensable provider of harm reduction in the Klamath Basin. Ryan lists his sober date as February 15th, 2022 and is a graduate of Klamath County Drug Court. Beyond his involvement with Max’s Mission, Ryan is also a member of the Board of Directors for Related in Recovery and a Chapter Alumni of Oxford House.
Asked about his favorite aspect of harm reduction, Ryan points to the outreach work he enthusiastically performs. “You can sit around in an office and wait for somebody to come in until you’re blue in the face, but the majority of the stuff, the outreach, that’s the boots on the ground part of it. And that’s really where the magic happens.”
As to his future goals within harm reduction, Ryan, who is also a Certified Recovery Mentor II (CRM II), is most focused on helping people get into detox and treatment. “I really look forward to the success stories. You have participants that made some good choices and now are doing better. It’s those successes that I look forward to.”
We would not be able to accomplish the things we do in the Klamath Falls area without the passionate and dedicated efforts Ryan consistently provides. He has been instrumental in saving lives and helping many of our participants move on to better lives. We are very proud to call Ryan one of ours!
Low-Barrier Outreach
Max’s Mission provides low-barrier outreach five days a week across Jackson, Josephine, and Klamath Counties, ensuring consistent support throughout Southern Oregon. Our outreach efforts include a combination of mobile outreach, where our teams move between various locations to meet people where they are, and tabled outreach, where we set up at designated areas, such as Hawthorne Park in Medford, or Jubilee Park in Cave Junction. (A full outreach schedule can be found on our homepage). This flexible, on-the-ground approach allows us to connect with individuals where they are, in a variety of settings and circumstances, making essential resources accessible without judgment and provides opportunities to identify individual participants and help them navigate to relevant community programs like emergency housing or professional medical services.
In addition to providing our outreach participants with harm reduction supplies like naloxone, we've connected with some amazing local organizations - OHSU Street Nursing Team and Rogue Valley Street Dogs - to bring our participants even more critical resources like body wipes, socks, underwear, toothbrushes, hand warmers, cold-weather clothing and pet food. Beyond these services and collaborations, members of our staff continue to find ways to add personal touches that meet people’s most basic needs with care and dignity. In Klamath County, our team members, Chloe and Ryan, prepare homemade sandwiches and soup once a week, while in Medford, our team member Leroy’s 89-year-old-mother, Mary, has made over 11,000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, that we hand out every Tuesday and Friday. These seemingly small acts of kindness go a long way in reminding people they’re seen, valued, and not alone.
Opioid Overdose Reversals (January - April 2025)
The impact of our naloxone distribution and training isn’t just measured in statistics. It's revealed through the real experiences and courage of the people who’ve used one of Max’s Mission’s naloxone kits to save the lives of friends, family members and, in many cases, complete strangers. As we reflect on the many opioid overdose reversals recorded so far this year, let's begin by honoring the human beings behind the statistics. These personal accounts from community members show how access to no-cost naloxone through Max’s Mission makes a life-saving difference in Southern Oregon. "I almost died a year ago, on the 10th of December. I haven’t touched fentanyl since then. Your Naloxone saved my life. I carry it with me every day now, just in case I see anyone or am with anyone who may [overdose]. You never know who is on opioids anymore, so I feel better knowing I have it just in case. Thank you for everything you do to save lives." - H "Thank you for having this available. OD'S are so very bad in our area and unfortunately until today I never knew I could easily get Narcan. I see it in the pharmacy but it wasn't cheap. Having it on you truly could save a life. It should be something easy to obtain" - J "I never had to use my first kit, but I gave it to my teenage granddaughter and taught her how to use it. She then participated with her class in giving various presentations of their choice before a room full of community leaders. She chose opioid addiction as her topic of choice. She gave a wonderful presentation. She showed the entire group how to use the Narcan kit, and mentioned Max's Mission as a community outreach saving lives. Now she is an advocate for everyone carrying around Narcan to save a life." - J
Providing free naloxone kits only one part of Max’s Mission’s harm reduction strategy. We also take great care in gathering indispensable information from those we serve. During outreach, we collect reports of opioid overdose reversals as well as basic demographic data from participants who receive our free naloxone kits. This information helps us better understand who we’re reaching, where the greatest needs are, and how our efforts succeed. These insights not only guide our ongoing work but help us advocate for broader access to life-saving resources in our Jackson, Josephine and Klamath communities.
Reported overdose reversals involving Max’s Mission naloxone kits rose sharply from 40 in January to a peak of 84 in March, representing a 110% increase over two months. This surge likely reflects a growing awareness and use of naloxone among community members as well as the possibility of a greater number of opioid overdoses in the communities we serve. The slight decrease in April to 68 reversals still represents a significantly elevated rate compared to the beginning of the year, signaling that the crisis remains active. These disturbing numbers suggests that opioid overdose continues to be a serious and on-going public health concern in Southern Oregon. This also underscores the value of hyper-local data and response strategies, as the frequency of overdose events can shift significantly, region to region. Overall, the data reinforces the urgency of naloxone distribution, education, and real-time data collection as tools to combat the opioid epidemic in Southern Oregon.
Max's Mission Public Syringe Clean-Up Initiative
As part of our ongoing commitment to harm reduction and community safety, Max’s Mission recently launched a Public Syringe Clean-Up Initiative. Through this program, outreach participants are encouraged to collect and return at least 40 used syringes in exchange for a $5 gift card to Dutch Bros Coffee, Fred Meyer, or Dollar Tree - depending on their home county. Since launching the Public Syringe Clean-Up Initiative, Max’s Mission has seen a nearly 100% increase in the number of used syringes brought in by our community participants. The strong and immediate response to our new program highlights just how influential even small incentives can be in motivating positive community action. A simple $5 gift card has inspired many of our participants to take part in creating safer public spaces - proving that when people are given the tools and encouragement to help, they will step up. This success shows that our low-barrier outreach programs are activating meaningful community engagement and fostering a shared sense of responsibility for public health. Every syringe removed represents a reduced risk of accidental needle-stick injuries, as well as a critical step in preventing the spread of infectious diseases like hepatitis C and HIV. Beyond the numbers and data-points, this program supports our broader harm reduction goals by promoting responsible syringe disposal, increasing community engagement, and enhancing overall public health across Southern Oregon.
New NaloxBox Locations
Max’s Mission continues to expand access to life-saving resources by adding more NaloxBoxes - publicly accessible opioid overdose kit dispensers - to our growing network across Jackson, Josephine, and Klamath counties. These boxes are provided to other public and private organizations, regularly refilled, and maintained by our team to ensure that naloxone is available 24/7 to anyone who may need it in an emergency or wished to be prepared for an opioid emergency. For a full list of box locations check our NaloxBox Map.
OnTrack Administrative Offices - 406 S. Riverside Ave. Medford, OR 97501
Reclaiming Lives (Recovery Café) - 228 E Main St H, Medford, OR 97501
MINT Shelter @ Parker's Place - 218 Redwood Hwy. Grants Pass, OR 97527
Wolf Creek Community Center - 100 Railroad Ave. Wolf Creek, OR 97497
What’s Next for Max’s Mission
As we prepare to move from spring into summer, Max’s Mission is looking ahead with intention and momentum. In the coming months, we plan to expand our outreach program to new locations across the region as we continue working to meet people where they are with compassion and care. Some of this outreach will involve collaboration with other local non-profits to strengthen our collective impact and connect participants with even more essential services. Additionally, our NaloxBox network will keep growing, with more life-saving kits placed in accessible locations throughout Southern Oregon.
We also hope to see everyone at this year’s Overdose Awareness Day 2025 - our 9th annual gathering - on Saturday, September 27, 2025, at Hawthorne Park in Medford. This event is a meaningful day to remember those we have lost to overdose and fentanyl poisoning, distribute free naloxone and train on its use and provide an opportunity to connect to the many services available in Southern Oregon. With each new season comes new opportunity - and we’re committed to moving forward, together, in the fight to prevent overdose and support overall community wellness.