Cuyahoga County Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided with Naloxone)

Naloxone is NOW available FREE to anyone who takes the training to administer it, you could save a life! 

ep·i·dem·ic ˌepəˈdemik/ noun a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time.

According to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s office we have an EPIDEMIC, we have a SERIOUS problem with heroin use all around us.  It’s widespread, it’s cheap, it’s everywhere you turn.  It’s in our schools, it’s in McDonald’s, it’s on the streets in prolific quantities.  It’s been the drug of choice in the Inner City and it’s quickly spreading into the suburbs as its use widens and becomes a public health threat with the amount of overdoses continually increasing.  As more people become addicted, more turn to dealing the drug to obtain their money to support their own habit.  The addict usually only has 3 options: one is to steal to obtain the needed money, the next is to panhandle and the third option is to begin to sell the drug in order to maintain their own habit.  So, these addicts and dealers may be our clients, our friends, our family members and those who we have casual and professional relationships with.  Why not educate yourself and become prepared in the event you should encounter an overdose victim?

The number of deaths by overdose is steadily climbing.  We are in crisis and there are tools available to help combat the effects of the crisis.  One of these tools is known as Naloxone or Narcan, a drug which is an antidote to a heroin (opiate) overdose.  You can obtain doses of Naloxone through Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided with Naloxone).  Project DAWN is a community-based overdose education and naloxone distribution program with trainings on the east and west side of Cleveland. The training and naloxone are FREE!  It doesn’t cost anything but on the contrary can save the lives of those who are struggling with addiction.  If you work with addicts, have a staff that works with addicts, have a loved one that is addicted or if you spend time on the street as a direct service provider to those in need, you have probably encountered heroin addicts along the way.  It’s worth your time to call and go to one of the locations in Cuyahoga County and receive the training necessary to administer the Naloxone to someone who is overdosing and save a life. 

  Project DAWN participants receive training on:

  • Recognizing the signs and symptoms of overdose
  • Distinguishing between different types of overdose
  • Performing rescue breathing
  • Calling emergency medical services
  • Administering intranasal Naloxone

Those who volunteer or work on the streets with at risk populations who may be drug users would benefit greatly from receiving the training and learn to administer Naloxone.  

To get in contact with a local Project DAWN program:

MetroHealth Project DAWN     216-778-5677

Project DAWN Locations:

(No appointment necessary. Services offered regardless of county of residency.)

Project DAWN resources are available at three convenient locations:

 

 

 by Denise Toth

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Chris Knestrickaddiction services, heroin, overdose deaths