Naloxone training tackles opioid crisis

The Central Region Addiction Resource Center (CRARC) is offering free naloxone training to the public.

The training sessions will be held from 11 a.m. to noon Aug. 8, Oct. 10, and Dec. 12 at BRiDGES in Oneida. The training is free and is open to anyone, with one naloxone kit provided to each attendee.

Made possible by a grant fromthe New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (OASAS), the goal of the CRARC is to coordinate community resources to increase cross-sector collaboration on substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts. The Central Region encompasses Cayuga, Cortland, Madi- son, Onondaga, and Oswego counties. The CRARC has just celebrated its one-year anniversary, and in that time has worked with providers from the five-county region to gather information on all resources related to opioid use, offer trainings and resources to CRARC collaborators in the community, and support community events.

One of New York state’s initiatives, as part of the grant, focuses on addressing opioid overdose-related fatalities in counties showing very high rates of overdose deaths and emergency room visits related to opioid use disorder. The state initiative involves training thousands of first responders, other likely witnesses, and community members in the use of naloxone.

CRARC is working in cooperation with the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (OASAS) to provide naloxone trainings throughout the region. In the past year, the CRARC has hosted 3 successful naloxone trainings at BRIDGES in Oneida, resulting in approximately 60 people learning how to administer life-saving naloxone.

Contact Lauren Davie at 315-697-3947, email lauren.p.davie@gmail.com, or visit the Central Region Addiction Resource Center website at cr-arc.org formore information on the program, to register for a free naloxone training, or to become a partner in the CRARC group of collaborators.