The Honor's HEROES program is designed for individuals seeking long-term recovery from opioid use disorder. We provide the following set of clinical and behavioral services at no cost in our program.
*While the services provided by Honor's HEROES are provided free of charge, participants are required to pay for any prescriptions either with insurance or out of pocket.
Participant eligibility includes adults over 18 years with history of prior opioid-related overdose or opioid use disorder. At this time, we are only able to assist English speaking patients.
More than 150,000 Americans die each year from overdose and suicide.
Behavioral health is critical to building resilient communities and preventing unnecessary loss of life.
Life-saving overdose prevention and recovery solutions are available, yet many communities struggle to put them into action where they are needed most.
Honor's HEROES is among the nation's leading community-based overdose prevention, treatment, and recovery initiatives. Recognized by the National Academy of Medicine as a national exemplar program, the Houston Emergency Opioid Engagement System (Honor's HEROES) collaborates with counties, health systems, first responders, community organizations, and healthcare providers to expand access to proven strategies that reduce overdose deaths, connect individuals to treatment, and support long-term recovery.
Our mission is simple: save lives, strengthen communities, and create pathways to hope and healing.
Honor's HEROES is a statewide initiative that integrates patient care, research, community engagement, and graduate health education to address substance use and behavioral health challenges across Texas.
Based at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston), the program operates an outpatient research and treatment clinic at the McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics. Clinical oversight is provided by emergency medicine physicians, with care delivered by advanced practice providers and a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals.
Honor’s HEROES offers comprehensive services that include medical care, behavioral health support, peer recovery services, care navigation, overdose prevention, and community outreach.
Since its founding, the program has been supported through large competitive grants and contracts from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and other public and private partners.
In 2025, the program was renamed in honor of Honor Nicole Wallace following a transformative gift from the Wallace family.
HEROES by the Numbers
The purpose of this study is to identify the prevalence of opioid use disorder and opioid-related overdoses across Southeast Texas, and to develop a comprehensive care coordination system to improve retention of patients in long-term treatment. We will help patients engage in treatment, recovery, and follow-up to improve their chances of long-term recovery and improved quality of life. Our program involves novel medication in the emergency department, follow-up from licensed emergency medical technicians, outpatient medication-assisted treatment, and ongoing recovery coaching. Our program is funded by an award from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, through the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) targeted opioid response program.
Honor's HEROES was founded by Dr. James Langabeer and Dr. Tiffany Champagne-Langabeer to address the growing overdose crisis through practical, evidence-based solutions delivered directly in the community. Recognizing that many individuals who experience an overdose never receive timely treatment or recovery support, they developed a model that combines healthcare, behavioral health, peer recovery services, research, and community partnerships.
Initially funded in 2017 and fully operational in 2018, HEROES has grown into one of the nation's leading community-based overdose prevention and recovery initiatives. Through partnerships spanning more than 11 Texas counties, the program has helped thousands of individuals access treatment, recovery resources, and life-saving services.
Dr. James Langabeer is a healthcare entrepreneur, scientist, and member of the National Academy of Medicine's Action Collaborative on Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic. Honor's HEROES has grown into a statewide initiative supported by a diverse team of faculty leaders, clinicians, researchers, and community partners, including Dr. Tiffany Champagne-Langabeer, Dr. Andrea Yatsco (Director of Operations), and Shabana Walia, MD (Medical Director). Their collective expertise in emergency medicine, behavioral health, recovery support, implementation science, and public health helps ensure that HEROES continues to deliver innovative, evidence-based solutions throughout Texas.
Research has identified effective interventions that can prevent overdose deaths and help individuals recover from substance use disorder. Yet many people never receive these services because of stigma, lack of awareness, limited healthcare access, transportation challenges, or shortages of treatment providers.
Honor's HEROES bridges these gaps by connecting individuals to evidence-based services, coordinating care across healthcare and community organizations, and providing support throughout the recovery journey.
Our integrated approach combines prevention, treatment, recovery support, and community engagement to ensure that people receive the right help at the right time.
Outreach and Engagement
Through strategic data-sharing partnerships with first responder agencies, including EMS and law enforcement, HEROES identifies and engages individuals who have recently experienced an overdose. Using proactive outreach and evidence-based motivational interviewing techniques, our team connects individuals to treatment, recovery resources, and support services as early as possible.
Treatment and Recovery
HEROES helps individuals access evidence-based treatment and long-term recovery services, including medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), outpatient treatment, residential care, recovery housing, and care navigation. Our goal is to support individuals throughout every stage of recovery.
Behavioral Health Services
Licensed behavioral health professionals provide counseling and therapeutic support for individuals experiencing substance use disorders, trauma, depression, anxiety, and other behavioral health challenges. Services focus on building resilience, developing healthy coping strategies, and supporting long-term wellness.
Peer Support and Education
Peer recovery specialists use their lived experience to provide mentorship, encouragement, and practical guidance throughout the recovery process. Educational programs help participants develop skills related to relapse prevention, stress management, family relationships, and overall wellness.
Overdose Prevention
Honor's HEROES distributes free naloxone to individuals, families, first responders, and community organizations across Texas. Naloxone is a safe, easy-to-use medication that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose and restore breathing, creating another opportunity for recovery.
Research Impact
HEROES generates and translates evidence to improve overdose prevention, behavioral health care, and recovery services across Texas.
Our work is grounded in informatics, data, research, and continuous evaluation. By combining scientific evidence with real-world implementation, we identify and scale interventions that reduce overdose deaths, expand access to treatment, strengthen recovery supports, and improve community health outcomes.
Through ongoing research and innovation, HEROES helps ensure that resources are directed toward strategies that have the greatest impact on saving lives.
50+ peer-reviewed publications • 11+ Texas counties served • Thousands of lives impacted
Our findings have been published in leading scientific journals, including Journal of Addiction Medicine, Pediatrics, PLOS One, and Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
Community-Based Solutions
No two communities face exactly the same challenges. Honor's HEROES provides a flexible toolkit of prevention, treatment, recovery, and outreach strategies that can be adapted to local needs while maintaining fidelity to evidence-based practices.
Scaling Proven Solutions
Many successful interventions remain limited to small pilot projects. HEROES specializes in expanding proven approaches across entire counties and regions through strategic partnerships, standardized implementation models, and continuous quality improvement.
National Recognition
Honor's HEROES has become a nationally recognized model for community-based overdose prevention and recovery support. Our work has been featured in scientific publications, national conferences, and public health initiatives as an example of how healthcare systems, community organizations, and local governments can work together to improve outcomes and save lives.
Simple
We focus on practical solutions that can be implemented quickly and effectively. Communities should not need years of planning to save lives.
Practical
Our programs are designed for real-world settings. We work closely with local partners to ensure services are accessible, sustainable, and responsive to community needs.
Results-Oriented
Everything we do is measured by outcomes. We track engagement, treatment access, recovery support, and overdose prevention metrics to ensure our efforts translate into meaningful impact.
Saving lives requires collaboration.
Honor's HEROES works alongside healthcare systems, physicians, behavioral health providers, county governments, law enforcement agencies, first responders, community organizations, recovery groups, faith-based organizations, and academic institutions.
Together, these partnerships create a coordinated network of care that helps individuals move from crisis to treatment, from treatment to recovery, and from recovery to long-term wellness.
By bringing together organizations that share a commitment to reducing overdose deaths and improving community health, HEROES creates sustainable solutions that strengthen entire communities.
Every life saved begins with a community committed to making a difference.
Your support helps HEROES expand access to overdose prevention, behavioral health services, recovery support, research, and education across Texas. Private support allows HEROES to distribute naloxone, connect individuals to treatment, advance innovative research, train future healthcare professionals, and bring evidence-based solutions to communities across the state.
Your gift supports:
Make a Gift → https://give.uth.edu/campaigns/66359/donations/new
If you are interested in enrolling in our program or learning more about available services, we are here to help.
Phone: 833-696-5102'Young HEROES' Mother Testimonial
Recorrido virtual de la clínica HEROES
Heroes Clinic Video Tour
The role of recovery coaches at Honor's HEROES
