Home » Council Members Flood, Welch and Peden sponsor free training session on heroin/opioid overdose prevention with Naloxone

Council Members Flood, Welch and Peden sponsor free training session on heroin/opioid overdose prevention with Naloxone

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (March 16, 2015) — This week, Louisville Metro Police released numbers showing a dramatic increase in the number of times officers have administered Naloxone to overdose victims in Metro Louisville just since the beginning of this year.

As community awareness heightens on heroin and opiate problems in the city, Metro Council members Madonna Flood (D-24), Vicki Aubrey Welch (D-13), and James Peden (R-23) will sponsor the next free Naloxone (Narcan) training session for the public on Tuesday, March 22nd.

“Heroin has touched every part of Metro Louisville and I would venture to say that, by now, everyone has been affected someway by this terrible epidemic,” says Flood. “In the spirit of public safety, we are trying to give hope to those who have family members or friends that are addicts.”

LMPD says officers had to administer the drug Naloxone to reverse drug overdoses 43 times during the first 12 days of March compared to 26 times for the entire month of February and only seven times during January.

“This training has proven to save lives and get help for families of addicts. We are hoping to bring more community awareness to the heroin crisis that affects all parts of Louisville Metro,” says Welch.

This new information is all the more reason why these free training sessions for the public are vital in saving lives. The training session will take place at the Okolona Fire Station Number 1, 8501 Preston Hwy beginning at 6:30pm.

Council Members are collaborating with the Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition as part of the ongoing awareness, education, and prevention for heroin/opioid overdose

The training will feature the following:

Learning  the signs and symptoms of heroin and opioid overdose.

Learn how to use Naloxone (Narcan) to respond to an overdose.

Each individual can register to receive a Naloxone kit.

You can learn more here: https://kyhrc.org/naloxone-and-overdose-response/

Since last fall, Metro Council members have made these free Naloxone training sessions a priority in fighting  the heroin/ opiate problem in Louisville Metro.