During a demonstration on how to administer Naloxone, a needle is inserted into a cylinder meant to simulate human skin. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

remembering and learning

Naloxone training offered, vigil held for International Overdose Awareness Day

Aug 30, 2019 | 5:33 PM

Community members came together Friday afternoon at Red Deer’s City Hall Park to remember those whose lives have been lost to a drug overdose.

The candlelight vigil and education event prior were held in recognition of International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31.

Tricia Peden, a registered nurse with Turning Point’s overdose prevention program, was there to give citizens hands-on practice in properly administering a dose of naloxone.

“People are dying every day and this is easily preventable. Naloxone (also known as) Narcan, works; overdoses can happen, but they don’t have to be fatal,” said Peden. “It is so easy to be able to respond. All it means is having a kit with you and taking five minutes to become educated.”

Peden also reiterated a message Turning Point has been promoting for a long time, that people who use drugs and ultimately overdose come from numerous socioeconomic backgrounds.

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“We have people in rural areas, suburban areas, and the downtown core,” she pointed out. “Everyone has been impacted by this on some level.”

As for the negativity Turning Point is regularly faced with both online and in the flesh, Peden admits it does affect the staff who work alongside people who use drugs.

“It’s heartbreaking to think that there’s a level of humanity out there that doesn’t place value on another human life regardless of what life circumstances have brought to somebody,” she remarked. “But it also fuels us because we need to stand up for those who are forgotten or lost in society.”

Naloxone kits can be picked up at Turning Point or at your local pharmacy.

In 2018, Red Deer saw 47 overdose deaths related to just fentanyl. There were two in the city in the first three months of 2019. Red Deer’s temporary overdose prevention site opened last October.