53 www.rnca.ca Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Association Think of them like a first aid kit, says St. John's volunteer group Originally published on July 11, 2017 by Andrew Sampson and Stephanie Tobin, CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador, volunteers at pop-up naloxone sites — set up alongside stalls serving french fries and cotton candy — are offering to teach you how to save a life. If you have a first aid kit you should have a naloxone kit too.- Jenn Smith "We're just training as many people as we can because it's not just people who use drugs on a regular basis who are overdosing," said volunteer Jenn Smith. "It's people like nan who takes a prescription for morphine and forgets she took a pill and she overdoses.We're just kind of saying that if you have a first aid kit you should have a naloxone kit too because nobody is safe from overdose." When people are given the chance to learn about naloxone, Smith said many of them jump at the opportunity. "We're getting a variety of people, a lot of people saying, 'I have friends who use drugs,' or someone who's saying 'I heard about this on the news.'" Tree Walsh, of the Safe Works Access Program (SWAP), said the pop-up tents are a partnership between SWAP, community groups, the city of St. John's and the provincial government. Originally, the idea for the pop-up tents came from Health Minister John Haggie, she said, and is a way to remove the stigma around overdoses and make people more comfortable talking about them. "An opioid overdose can happen for a number of reasons — sometimes it's accidental, simply because a person has taken their meds that they've already taken and forgot about. So it can be as simple as a mistake like that." The pop-up tents started on July 1, 2017, at the George Street Canada Day celebrations, where Walsh said they gave out 27 kits. At the Mundy Pond Regatta, 22 kits were handed out. www.cbc.ca EXPECTTO SEE MORE NALOXONE POP-UPTENTS AT SUMMER EVENTS Volunteer Jenn Smith says people should think of naloxone kits in the same way they think of first aid kits. (Andrew Sampson/CBC) Naloxone kits include equipment to inject the antidote to an opioid overdose. (CBC News) Public Advisory: The tents are open to the public and offer education on opioid drug use and overdose risk, as well as training for, and distribution of, take home Naloxone kits. Kits are provided free of charge.They are meant for people who use drugs, or people who have family and friends who use drugs. More than 60 kits have been distributed through the tent project as of August 1, 2017. Training has been provided directly to members of the community. People are also reminded that they can call 811 to find other locations where take home kits are available. www.releases.gov.nl.ca
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