With the increase in opiod-related overdoses in Peterborough, the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) has partnered with Peterborough Public Health and Harm Reduction Works @ PARN to provide naloxone kits, at no cost, to a number of strategically located downtown businesses.
Naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan among others, is a medication used to temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, buying time for a person to get the necessary medical attention they may need. Naloxone has been successfully used to save lives in Peterborough and around the world.
Naloxone kits come in two versions: administered by injection or by nasal spray; the kits to be provided to downtown Peterborough businesses will be the nasal spray versions.
Staff at the downtown businesses that have naloxone kits on site will be trained on how to identify and respond to an opioid poisoning or overdose. As well as DBIA members, the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce is inviting its members to be trained and equipped with naloxone kits.
“We’re in the midst of an opioid crisis in Peterborough,” says DBIA executive director Terry Guiel. “We see first-hand people struggling with addiction and sadly, we’ve already lost too many members of our community. If helping local businesses know what to do when they see an opioid poisoning saves one life, it’s worth it.”
Peterborough Public Health and PARN will be providing brief training sessions along with the free kits in the front lobby of VentureNorth (270 George St. N., Peterborough) from 8 to 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 27th and Friday, June 28th, and from 8 to 10 a.m., 12 to 2 p.m, and 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 4th and Friday, July 5th.
“Having been in business for 43 years downtown, we see a crisis at the moment with overdoses and addiction and we feel we need to help the community and those in need of help anyway we can,” says Andrew Damiany, manager of Gentry Apparel.
Stickers will be available for any business that would like to display one in their window, to let people know they are trained on how to respond to an opioid poisoning.
“We know that people working downtown are experiencing the impact of the opioid crisis on a daily basis and want to do what they can to help,” says PARN executive director Kim Dolan. “This initiative increases our collective response to opioid poisonings in our community and sends a strong message that people in Peterborough are prepared to step up and save lives.”
“This program reflects the caring attitude of the local business community towards people with addictions and the growing awareness that this issue affects us all,” adds Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, Medical Officer of Health at Peterborough Public Health.
“In some ways, this demonstration of compassion is just as effective as the naloxone itself because it reduces the terrible stigma faced by people who struggle with addictions. Stigma remains one of the biggest barriers preventing people from seeking treatment. Kindness, as well as clinical interventions, are the key ingredients to solving this issue.”
The kits are being provided by the DBIA, PARN, Peterborough Public Health, and the City of Peterborough.
VIDEO: Saving people from opioid overdoses with naloxone
“The litmus test of a caring and compassionate community is how we treat our most vulnerable,” says Peterborough Police Service deputy chief Tim Farquharson.
“Addiction is not a moral failure; it is a medical disorder. We are all in this dilemma together and it will take us all, as a community, working collaboratively to reverse this tragic tide of needless death. Thanks very much to our Downtown Business Improvement Area group for taking a leadership role in this epic challenge.”
For interested in receiving thorough and no-cost overdose response training, Question of Care Peterborough offers training sessions throughout the year. Visit questionofcare.com for information on upcoming sessions.
