Walker Valley, NY – Ulster County Legislator Craig Lopez has organized a free community Narcan Training in cooperation with Dr. Raymond Harvey from the Institute for Family Health and Marie Shultis, Director of Awareness Inc., on Tuesday, March 21st at 6:30 PM at the Walker Valley Firehouse,3679 Route 52, Walker Valley, NY 12588.

“This free training is open to everyone from first responders to concerned citizens who may know someone involved in opioid use, or someone who  just wants to be prepared,” offered Lopez. “Sadly, almost every family in our communities has been somehow affected by the staggering rise in Heroin/Opioid use, abuse and overdose. It is my pleasure to host this training to teach people the signs of a drug overdose and get this life-saving tool into the hands of anyone and everyone who might find themselves in need of it.”

A free Narcan kit will be dispensed to each participant who attends the training. Narcan (naloxone) is a prescription medicine that reverses an opioid overdose. It cannot be used to get high and is not addictive.  It is simple to administer and has been credited with saving many lives when administered during the first critical minutes.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Health Organization issued a report supporting that naloxone be available to first responders (e.g., police and firemen) and to people dependent on opioids, their peers and family members who are likely to be present when an overdose occurs. (http://www.unodc.org/docs/treatment/overdose.pdf).

Anyone interested in attending this free training is asked to RSVP via email to ucawarenessprogram[at]gmail[dot]com.

“We hope and pray no one ever needs to use it,” said Lopez “but having a trained person ready with a Narcan kit could easily mean the difference between life and death of a family member, friend or neighbor.” 

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