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Community groups band together to prevent overdose deaths

by | Aug 27, 2020 | Health & Wellness

Since 2007, drug overdoses have claimed the lives of 11,863 Virginians. To support the survivors, honor those who died, and prevent future loss of life, several local groups will mark International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31, 2020.

Germanna Community College, Be Well Rappahannock, and the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board have teamed up to increase awareness of the opioid epidemic and to empower individuals to save lives. The August 31 event will feature a presentation of the problem of opioid addiction and a separate presentation on how to reverse opioid overdoses using naloxone. All will be held virtually on Zoom.

Carmen Greiner, director of Lighthouse Counseling of Fredericksburg, will inform participants regarding opiate addiction, address treatment approaches, and suggest ways to help. This two-hour virtual training session will run from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Register online for this training at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZArdeCvqT0oG9K62eRIUe2qkUHQxZrW9oDc

The 60-minute REVIVE! training will be offered twice virtually that same day. Participants can select either 1:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m.  Sherry Norton-Williams, RACSB Prevention Specialist, will teach participants to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose. Those who complete the course will be able to pick up a free dose of naloxone (Narcan), the lifesaving antidote to opioid overdose. Register online for this training at https://bit.ly/VIRTUALREVIVE-AUG-31-2020.

All participants are encouraged to wear purple in support of International Overdose Day. Held August 31 each year, the observance aims to raise awareness, reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths, remember those who have died, and stimulate discussion about prevention.

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