Health officials in Chatham-Kent are teaching people how to save someone from an opiate overdose in an effort to curb drug-related deaths.
The community has been struggling with elevated substance use with the rate of opioid-related hospital visits and deaths having more than doubled since 2019.
To combat the problem, CK Public Health has been offering free training sessions to show people how to use Naloxone kits in order to help someone who is experiencing an opiate overdose.
"It's a hard topic to talk about and people can feel stigma in various ways when going to a training about responding to drug poisoning," said Jordynne Lindsay, who is the local primary lead for the Ontario Naloxone Program. "We hope that if we're able to offer these sessions more frequently, we can normalize that side of it and help people break down some of those barriers."
Four community sessions were held across Chatham-Kent over the course of a month, however, the sessions didn't receive the type of turnout officials were hoping for.
The sessions were held in partnership with the Chatham-Kent Public Library in Dresden, Blenheim, Wallaceburg, and Chatham.
"The folks that did come out, we had really beautiful conversations and were able to spend a good amount of time with people and have in-depth conversations on how to recognize and respond in a trauma-informed way," said Lindsay. "We now have some champions and advocates in our community that are able to help when needed."
In the event of an overdose, Naloxone can temporarily reverse the effects, buying more time for medical professionals to provide emergency care.
The sessions teach people about the process of responding to an overdose from assessing signs of potential opioid poisoning to administering Naloxone.
"We provide training for two forms of Naloxone," said Lindsay. "We have a nasal spray and an injectable. We go through training on both of those so people are prepared to use that in response."
National Addictions Awareness Week runs from November 20 to November 26.
It is an annual campaign that aims to raise awareness about substance abuse and its consequences.
Residents can find more information by visiting the Canadian Centre for Addictions website.