Bad Batch Alert is an anonymous free text messaging service aimed at helping those struggling with heroin addiction to stay alive in Baltimore City. An active user, or a loved one, registers with the service to receive text alerts when a lethal batch of tainted heroin may be in their neighborhood. With this knowledge, dosages can be modified and loved ones can be warned. The service is driven by data from EMS, that is analyzed for OD spikes by an epidemiologist from Behavioral Health Systems Baltimore. When a spike is detected, a text alert is sent to all the users registered in that area. The service also has a built in suite of commands aimed at providing support and recovery tools. Examples of these are quick access the 24 hour crisis line, real time notification of the needle exchange van’s current location, and access to the Naloxone training schedule. We hope that these alerts and tools will help people stay alive and even potentially recover from their addiction.
![](https://i1.wp.com/www.badbatchalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web.jpg?resize=1100%2C500)