HAMTRAMCK, Mich. – Odds are you’ve heard of Narcan before, but if you haven’t, it’s the life-saving medication that can reverse an overdose of opioids, including heroin, fentanyl, and prescription medications.
You can find Narcan in every school within the Hamtramck School District, including middle and elementary schools.
At Hamtramck High School, all seniors have been trained on how to use it, as officials say one person overdoses each month in Hamtramck.
Narcan, the overdose reversal medication, is used 4 times a month.
“In a small community like this, that’s pretty large, and if it’s your child, sibling, parent, grandparent, then it becomes a real statistic,” said Virginia Skrzyniarz of Piast Institute.
It was those statistics that got Skrzyniarz thinking.
“It can happen anywhere, and it can certainly happen in schools,” Skrzyniarz said.
Skrzyniarz’s idea is to get Narcan boxes in every school within the district because sometimes seconds matter.
Hamtramck High School Principal Lawrence Stroughter is approaching the new school year, knowing they have yet another life-saving tool within reach should they need it.
“It’s just the days and times that we live in, so we have to be prepared for the unthinkable,” said Stroughter.
They are prepared as thousands of boxes have been distributed district-wide, and school staff, teachers, and high school seniors have been trained on how to use them.
It’s all free, thanks to the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network.
“I think about all of the families that could’ve been affected in negative ways, but as a result of this amazing tool here, we’ve been able to save lives, and that’s extraordinary,” said CEO President Detroit Wayne Integrated Heath Network Eric Doeh.
Doeh says he’s happy to extend that opportunity to save lives to even more young people.
“If the only thing that’s preventing us from doing it are a few more dollars, then let’s find the dollars because those dollars are not equivalent to saving lives,” said Doeh.
Thursday (Aug. 31) is Overdose Awareness Day. Hamtramck public schools superintendent also weighed in on the situation, noting that overdose deaths went up nearly 50% in two years.
