P.E.I.R. to host Overdose Awareness Day event in Atmore
By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
People Engaged in Recovery (P.E.I.R.) first visited Atmore when Marlo Young organized a Mental Health Awareness event in May. The visit was so successful, the Mobile-based organization decided to hold its annual Overdose Awareness Day observance in the city.
“We are so excited and honored that we will be able to host this event in Atmore this year,” said Recovery Specialist Beverly Brown, a native of the Atmore area. “The scope of the drug problem in Escambia County is severe. We see this firsthand every day.
“The data collected from our community organizations and providers show the real dangers and just how serious this problem is. We will be sharing this data that we collected specifically for our county.”
Several other related organizations will be setting up resource tables at the event, which is co-sponsored by Project Freedom. It will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, August 31, at Boxcar Willie Park.
“Some of the (other) groups that will be there are VitAl Alabama, Southwest Mental Health, Alabama Area Health Education Center, Agape and more,” Brown said. “We will also have speakers throughout, sharing their stories, and we will have someone speaking from the fire department reporting on what they’re coming across in our community with the drug crisis that we are in and facing.”
The observance, titled “Hope and Light in the Darkness,” will also include a candlelight vigil and a remembrance of friends, family, colleagues and loved ones who lost their respective battle against drug abuse due to an overdose.
“We want to inform the community of overdose, how to recognize an overdose and prevention,” Brown said.
One of the tools in the prevention of overdoses is the administration of Narcan, which can rapidly reverse the effects of a life-threatening opioid emergency. The nasal spray is also used to revive a person during an overdose of many prescription pain relievers and street drugs such as heroin. It can be purchased over the counter at most pharmacies.
“Narcan is an opiate blocker that could save someone’s life if administered promptly during an overdose,” Brown explained. “We are experiencing growing numbers of overdoses in Escambia County, some with fatalities, from substances that are laced with fentanyl. So, by informing the community as to what to look for and how to recognize an overdose, and training on how to use Narcan, we are hoping to prevent the fatalities that are happening to our youth and those we care about in our community.”
P.E.I.R. representatives will offer hands-on training in the application of Narcan to anyone who wants to be prepared if an overdose occurs.
For those who need the organization’s services or advice, a 24-hour, 7-days-a-week hotline is available (844-307-1760).