February 10, 2026

High-school peer-led project takes on Washington’s opioid crisis

University of Washington researchers are leading a new collaborative project aimed at combating youth opioid overdose deaths in Washington state through a near-peer train-the-trainer model targeting high school students. This approach pairs individuals who have slightly more experience – Seattle University students – than those who they are mentoring – Garfield High School students. This relatively small gap in experience helps to foster educational relationships that feel much more relatable and accessible than traditional mentorship programs.

The collaborative effort combines expertise from Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic (OBCC), Seattle Children’s Hospital, the University of Washington, Seattle University and Garfield High School to empower students to lead the charge against adolescent opioid deaths.

The project, funded by the UW Population Health Initiative, tackles Washington’s devastating opioid crisis: Drug poisoning and overdoses have surpassed firearms as the leading cause of accidental deaths among those aged 0-24 in the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (WWAMI) region, with King County exhibiting particularly high rates.

Dr. Thomas Agostini, a University of Washington pediatric resident and co-investigator for the project explains that this high proportion of drug-related deaths among young people is “fairly unique to the state of Washington.” He continues, “Across the country, it’s typically car crashes and gun violence.”

While Seattle University peer health educators have met with the Garfield students a few times to provide feedback and share general information, the full partnership is still developing for next year.

This near-peer model was specifically designed to maximize impact. The researchers believe that the age proximity of educators to high schoolers may be more effective than medical residents, who are typically older and further removed from adolescent experiences. “The more community-focused and culturally informed you can be in your approach to delivering information, the more likely you are to actually have that information resonate with a person and have an actual impact,” says Agostini.

Meanwhile, Garfield students have spearheaded the “Bulldogs Against Overdose” initiative, with support from the OBCC Teen Health center and a history teacher. Students have presented in over 30 classrooms, created a video about Narcan use, and distributed Narcan at school events including Purple and White day.

The program aims to shift away from traditional substance use education programs, which have been historically ineffective. Agostini notes that these traditional programs often “only further add on to stigma” and often omit relevant information about harm reduction strategies, which is a major focus of the project.

“Ultimately our goal is to stop kids from dying from overdoses,” emphasizes Agostini.

The team hopes this approach will create sustainable change by training local advocates who can share life-saving instruction with peers. The Bulldogs Against Overdose, mainly comprised of seniors, has recruited about 10 new students to continue the work next year.

For the researchers, this project is both professionally and personally motivated. “Nowadays with the overdose death crisis, everybody is touched in personal and professional ways,” Agostini recounts. “It’s heartbreaking. There are very few people who aren’t impacted by the overdose death crisis.”