The next free session of Narcan Training is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 25, from 1-2 p.m. in the Culinary Arts Center on the second floor of the SSC building.

Opioid addiction has been a pervasive issue in American schools, workplaces, and homes since the 1990s. With no restrictions on its victims, opioid addiction continues to affect individuals across America through various street drugs, including counterfeit pills, heroin, and the latest and most dangerous of all: fentanyl.

CT State Community College Manchester has worked with local partners to provide training in the use of Narcan, which can reverse opioid overdoses and save a life.

Narcan is the generic name for Naloxone, which is a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. It is an opioid antagonist. This means that it attaches to opioid receptors and reverses and blocks the effects of other opioids. Naloxone can quickly restore normal breathing to a person if their breathing has slowed or stopped because of an opioid overdose. But it has no effect on someone who does not have opioids in their system. Opioids include heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone (OxyContin®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), codeine, and morphine.

The presentation on this vital tool will last about 45 minutes and at the end participants leave with not only the knowledge of how to use Naloxone, but also a box of Narcan with two doses.

Space is limited so participants must RSVP with counselor Wanda Reyes-Dawes at [email protected] by Friday. Sept. 20. Additional training sessions will be offered throughout the school year.