Mahoning County District Board of Health to provide naloxone training at upcoming events

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The public is invited to learn how to use naloxone, a medication that can block the effects of opioids in the case of an overdose, at two upcoming events.

Mahoning County Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided With Naloxone), an initiative funded by a partnership between the Mahoning County District Board of Health and the Ohio Department of Health, is a community-based program that provides education about drug overdoses and distributes naloxone to members of the public.

Project DAWN will have training and distribution events from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1105 Elm St., and from 6 to 7 p.m. Nov. 14 at Taft Elementary School library, 730 E. Avondale Ave. The events are geared toward people who may be in contact with someone who is at risk of an opioid overdose.

“We’re going to provide the participants with information about identifying the risk factors for an overdose and being able to recognize what an overdose actually looks like,” said Tracy Styka, county health board community health education specialist. “We’ll give them information about using the Project DAWN kit, and they’ll be able to get a kit that would be for their own personal use.”

Pre-registration is not required. Kits will be provided to the first 30 participants. Participants who do not receive a kit are still invited to participate in the training, Styka said.

“We want everybody to feel welcome to attend the training. It’s an open event,” she said.