FINDLAY, OH (WLIO) - Health organizations in Findlay reached out to educate the public about overdose and prevention on Thursday.
Overdose Awareness Day at Dorney Plaza aims to connect people directly with those who can refer them to resources to get help, teach them to help others and share personal experiences about the reality of drug addiction and overdoses.
Hancock Public Health was also there to pass out Narcan kits and fentanyl test trips. In an overdose, response time is very important, so being able to give Narcan while waiting for EMS can make the difference between life and death.
"When average people get Narcan, we're finding that they're able to administer it right on the spot. It doesn't matter where someone's at, whether it's a restaurant, at home, if they're a senior accidentally overdosing on their pain medicines, or a child that got a pill that they don't know what it is. Getting Narcan in the hands of people for any place, any time, is really the important message that we're trying to send today," said Heidi Barilla, the program director with Focus Recovery and Wellness Community.
Overdose Awareness Day is also about changing people's perceptions of victims of addiction and overdose.
"I would like everybody to know that we're all human and that just because someone has overdosed on a drug doesn't make them not a human anymore. Really, just having Narcan on hand is a good thing to have. It can save somebody's life," explained Cheryl Miller, a community health worker for Hancock Public Health.
Purple flags were set out to help visualize the 991 lives that were saved by Narcan in Findlay in 2022, and 28 black flags represented those who could not be saved.
