What Happens When a Community Organizes? Five Years of Coalition Opioid Response in Tooele County

What Happens When a Community Organizes? Five Years of Coalition Opioid Response in Tooele County

Price, UT

The Tooele Opioid Response Network (TORN) was formed to address the opioid crisis through
coordinated, community-driven action. Over the past five years, TORN has grown from a small
coalition into a countywide consortium that connects public health, behavioral health,
emergency services, law enforcement, education, and community organizations around a
shared response to substance use.

This presentation will highlight both the reach and the systems-level impact of the network.
Attendees will learn how TORN has engaged hundreds of residents through prevention,
education, awareness, and recovery-focused events, while also advancing larger structural
changes in the community. These include expanded access to treatment, improved referral
pathways, cross-agency coordination, and the development of new recovery and overdose
prevention initiatives.

By sharing key milestones, challenges, and lessons learned, this session will demonstrate how a
local coalition can evolve into a sustainable system of care. Participants will leave with practical
insights on building partnerships, aligning community resources, and using data and
collaboration to drive long-term change.