On Overdose Awareness Day, APT Foundation Provides NARCAN on The Green

NEW HAVEN, CT —The APT Foundation is bringing "life-saving resources" to the New Haven Green on Aug. 31, known as International Overdose Awareness Day.

At the event, APT staff members will be on hand to train community members in the use of naloxone, known as NARCAN, a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose, and will have NARCAN kits available.

"International Overdose Awareness Day is to honor people lost needlessly to overdose, to raise awareness," APT Foundation noted in a news release, "and get Narcan into the hands of community members."

Also at the event, from noon to 3 p.m., around 15 APT staff members will educate the public on overdose prevention and offer information and resources related to substance use disorder and other chronic health issues. In particular, they will:

• Train interested individuals on how to use NARCAN Kits and supply them.
• Provide socks, snacks, toiletries, and other necessities to community members who face housing challenges.

• Offer blood pressure screening, courtesy of the Primary Services team.
• Engage with community members regarding employment opportunities, courtesy of the Vocational Services team, centering client aspirations and goal-setting and taking into account each person’s unique life circumstances.
• Serve ice-cold refreshment for everyone who stops by (choice of herb- or fruit-infused Spa Water!)

About APT Foundation

The mission of the APT Foundation is to promote health and recovery for those who live with substance use disorders and/or mental illness. APT was founded in 1970 by members of the Yale School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and is among the oldest treatment programs in the US. Under current leadership, APT has grown into an enterprise that employs 340 workers and has five patient-care sites, making it the eighth-largest employer in Greater New Haven. More at https://aptfoundation.org/