August 31st is International Overdose Awareness Day, the world's largest campaign to end overdose. It's a global problem that's we're seeing the effects of here in our community.
Northern Nevada HOPES a community health center in Downtown Reno, has programs to help address what's been a growing problem for years.
"On the harm reduction end we do have Change Point, a needle exchange service," said Michelle Wagner, R.N., Director of Clinical Services at Northern Nevada HOPES. "We also give out naloxone, known as Narcan, at no charge, and we give out Fentanyl test strips as well."
Having Narcan on hand can save lives.
"I have actually seen the reversal when Narcan is used, I've seen it work on people and it really is an amazing drug," Wagner said. "But the problem is if someone is overdosing they still need to seek help from a hospital, emergency services still needs to be contacted because the half-life of Narcan is so much shorter than the half life of opioids."
She also says that the results of the Fentanyl test strips are showing an alarming trend.
"Unfortunately, out of all the fentanyl test strips that have been returned to us in the last 6 months, 100% of those strips are positive for Fentanyl," she said. "So Fentanyl is in everything including recreation drugs and it's so dangerous because it's so much more potent than Vicodin, even heroin, and can cause respiratory depression at a much lower dose and a much higher rate."
For those that are ready to get help, HOPES has options like medicated-assisted treatment and an intensive outpatient program. That program is helping Reno native Jessica Larock stay clean. She started using drugs in her teens.
"When I was 13 I started using meth and in my 20s I started using heroin," Larock said.
Her addiction nearly killed her.
"I overdosed in jail, on the streets, probably about nine times total," she said. "So I got lucky this last time in jail. I was gone; I had gone septic from an infection, plus the overdose, but there was a deputy there that did not give up. At some point she was supposed to stop but she didn't stop, she was like, I'm not giving up on you."
She says that last overdose was going to be the last one period.
"I can't even explain what it's like to overdose," she said. "It's like you black out into a space, and it felt like I was crawling out of an egg, and then waking up with a tube in your throat and being shackled to a bed and not knowing what day, time or year it is or what happened, it's really scary. And it really gave me a reality check; I have two little babies that need me to be there. So it just it hit me then, I'm just done, you know."
Now, the HOPES outpatient program has given her new hope, and a support network that's always there.
"I do three hours a day, three times a week, and just being able to sit down with people in the same situation I am, that I can relate to, it's eye-opening," she said. "I'm just being thankful for what I have and the support team I have. I've been to too many funerals this year; it's heartbreaking."
The mobile program that provides the needle exchange, Narcan and Fentanyl strips is open in the Northern Nevada HOPES parking lot Monday through Thursday from noon to 2 p.m. Counseling and treatment there is designed to be accessible and affordable for everyone.
More information: https://www.nnhopes.org/
