Opioid Deaths Spur Classes, Ribbons At AHeights Funeral Home

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — A funeral home in Arlington Heights is marking the estimated deaths expected to be caused by opioid use in Illinois this year by tying individual purple ribbons to netting outside its building this week. Glueckert Funeral Home — along with other advocates around the state — is displaying 2,155 ribbons to represent the lives projected to be lost to accidental overdoses in the state in 2018, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Along with raising awareness about the opioid epidemic, the funeral home also is trying to prevent overdoses from happening. It's holding two training classes daily through Friday, Aug. 31, at its location at 1520 N. Arlington Heights Road. These free sessions — which people can attend without an appointment — teach individuals how to use naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses, and Live3Lali, a village-base nonprofit advocacy group, will give participants a vial of the medication.

"It is legal in Illinois for non-medical professionals to administer naloxone to an individual experiencing an opioid overdose," the funeral home states on its website about the medication, which also is known as Narcan. "Naloxone is widely used by first responders as well as community members throughout Illinois … which allows pharmacies and other organizations to dispense/provide naloxone to individuals at risk for opioid overdose, their friends/family, and other members of the general public, without the need for a prescription."

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The classes culminate in International Overdose Awareness Day. A candlelight vigil will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31, at Lake Arlington, 2201 N. Windsor Drive, to remember those who have died of opioid overdoses. Remembrances also can be left on a special page on the funeral home's website.

"It just got to the point where we felt we needed to do something about it," John Glueckert Jr., owner of the Arlington Heights funeral home, told the Daily Herald.

"That just sticks with me. It's raised my awareness around this crisis," he added.

Naloxone Training Sessions

When: Two classes daily — 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. — through Thursday, Aug. 30. Four classes — 9 and 11 a.m., and 3:30 and 6 p.m. — will be held Friday, Aug. 31.

Where: Glueckert Funeral Home, 1520 N. Arlington Heights Road

Cost: Free. No appointments necessary, and participants are given a free vial of naloxone.

More Information: Go to the special page for Overdose Awareness Day at the funeral home's website.

International Overdose Awareness Day Candlelight Vigil

When: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31

Where: Lake Arlington, 2201 N. Windsor Drive

More Information: Remembrances can be left at the special page on the funeral home's website.

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