In honor of September as National Recovery Month, we're focusing on the life-saving work our substance abuse program is doing in our community.
Opioids continue to be a serious issue in the U.S. and worldwide. According to the CDC, 220 people died each day from an opioid overdose in 2021, data which accounts for natural and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. In the state of Georgia alone, overdose deaths involving opioids increased by a whopping 308 percent between 2019 and 2022.
HAMSA (Helping Atlantans Manage Substance Abuse) at JF&CS aims to reduce harm from the opioid epidemic through destigmatization, education, and NARCAN training. Joel Dworkin, Program Manager, shares how this proactive approach could save lives.
“I think there’s still a perception about who is an opioid addict or drug addict,” says Joel. Joel has led the HAMSA program for four years and is in recovery himself. “The perception is changing as people become more educated about opioid addiction, and with the media attention around the Purdue pharma cases.
“Another misconception is that people who are addicted to opioids were intending to take them,” explains Joel. “Often times, synthetic opioids like fentanyl are mixed in with illegal drugs like cocaine, and they’re very often pressed into counterfeit pharmaceutical pills, too.”
About NARCAN:
NARCAN kits contain naloxone nasal spray, a fentanyl test strip and gloves, all in a heat and light-resistant neoprene bag. NARCAN is the brand name for naloxone, which is an opioid antagonist. Joel explains that “naloxone has an affinity for the same receptors in the brain that opioids and opiates attach to. It is a smaller molecule that has a stronger affinity, so it will push the opioids off those receptors and take their place. The effects last from 90 minutes to two hours — long enough to get someone to a hospital.”
“The goal is, if their brain doesn’t have opioids in its receptors, it no longer gets the signals that opioids send to say, ‘suppress breathing,’ and then people start breathing again,” said Joel. Naloxone can be administered as a nasal spray or an injectable and is similar to an Epi-Pen in that it’s “a short-acting solution that buys time to get the person to definitive medical care.”
“It’s also similar to an albuterol inhaler, in that it’s completely safe to give to somebody who doesn’t need it, but if somebody does need it, they’ll be able to breathe,” says Joel. “It can be given to someone who you think is having an overdose, and if you’re wrong, it won’t hurt them.”
NARCAN Training
HAMSA has a focus on educating and training groups on how to use the NARCAN kits, with a goal of distributing 500 this year. Joel says people have been “incredibly receptive to receiving this training.”
“We see NARCAN training as similar to people being trained for CPR in case someone else has a heart attack; people get trained in NARCAN in case someone has an overdose,” Joel explained. “We provide this education for everyone from corporate groups and other nonprofits to schools and parent groups, as well as synagogue trainings.”
Joel also provides training at Jewish events throughout the year, pairing a Talmud and Torah study on harm reduction with a NARCAN training to illustrate the ancient Jewish value of harm reduction and saving a life – Pikuach nefesh. The training, which lasts about an hour, also discusses opioid overdose openly and publicly, helping destigmatize the issue.
If you’re interested in learning more about NARCAN training, please contact 833.HAMSA.HELPS.