Monongalia County Quick Response Team members and other volunteers will provide naloxone along with training on how to properly administer the nasal spray from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 25) at the Health Sciences Center Pylons, Student Rec Center and Mountainlair.
Volunteers will also distribute fentanyl test strips.
A part of a nationwide initiative that began in West Virginia, the event will be held at several other locations across Monongalia County.
“It’s really cool to see community members who don’t have anyone who is in active addiction who want to carry naloxone. It’s not just about people who are experiencing substance use disorder,” Teisha Prim, a QRT member and peer recovery support specialist for West Virginia Sober Living, said.
Prim, a Morgantown native who earned her Regents Bachelor of Arts degree from WVU in the spring, has overcome many obstacles in her life and is a person in long-term recovery.
Working to reduce opioid use in the community and funded by the Monongalia County Health Department, the QRT is a multi-agency group that provides services and resources to people who have experienced an overdose.
“We’ve lowered the overdose rate in this state, mainly because of naloxone saturation. It’s available and it’s out there in the communities,” said Travis Teets, also a QRT member and peer recovery support specialist.