The City of Newburgh will distribute free Narcan kits to the community and provide free training on how to use them.
The distribution and training will take place at the City of Newburgh Activity Center on Washington Street this Monday, July 25, 2022 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm.
The event will teach residents how to save a life by recognizing, preventing, and responding to an opioid overdose by using the nasal form of Narcan. This is technically referred to as intranasal naloxone, a prescription medication used to reverse an overdose.
The event is being sponsored by Team Newburgh Community Coalition. They partnered with City of Newburgh Councilman Anthony Grice, who spearheaded the initiative.
“Drug addiction is a mental illness,” Grice explained. “While some do crime to get access to drugs and should face those consequences accordingly, we must approach it like we would any other mental health issue.”
While Grice recognized that illegal drugs should not be entering the city in the first place, he noted that people using drugs should not be left to die.
“Drug addicts are not unique to just one municipality, race, or economic status,” the councilman pointed out. “While some municipalities are sometimes treated with pity or scorn, every municipality has at least one person addicted to drugs.
Anyone wishing to attend the free training and receive a free Narcan kit can register here.
