Hempstead gives out 10,000th free Narcan kit in ongoing opioid fight
Hempstead Town officials handed out a 10,000th Narcan spray Monday, part of a four-year effort to stem the ongoing opioid crisis. Credit: Johnny Milano/JOHNNY MILANO
A four-year effort aimed at teaching Hempstead Town residents ways to fight an ongoing opioid crisis culminated Monday with distribution of the 10,000th kit of Narcan, a drug used to revive overdose victims.
Town officials and community members gathered outside the Island Park Public Library to mark the milestone.
Councilman Anthony D’Esposito acknowledged that 10,000 is a number he wished they didn't "have to celebrate. We have a lot more work to do."
The free training sessions started at the beginning of 2017 and continued through last summer in nearby communities, including Lido Beach and Point Lookout, D’Esposito said.
"It has affected so many lives," D’Esposito said of the opioid crisis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, "we’ve seen an uptick in opioid overdoses that have led to death and we’ve continued our mission," he said.
According to the Garden City-based Family & Children’s Association, 390 people died from drug overdoses in 2020, representing a 34% increase in fatalities in Nassau and a 12% rise in Suffolk. Long Island deaths rose a combined 34% from 2019 to 2020.
At the event, Ellen Andrasick of Franklin Square said the opioid crisis claimed the life of a 19-year-old family friend.
"When it hits home, it means more to you than anything," said Andrasick, who took the training. "So we have to get more than 10,000 kits out into the town and into the hands of everybody, doesn’t matter if you’re young or old."
Providing residents with the kits and training in how to use the devices is about "saving lives" and "educating people," said Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin.
"I’d rather you have the kit sit on the shelf and never get utilized but if it’s needed, you’ll have it," Clavin said as he held a Narcan nasal spray kit.
Narcan can be applied through injections or nasal spray. Those taking part in the training learn how to use the nasal spray on an overdose victim.
Also known as naloxone, Narcan can block the effects of drugs such as fentanyl, opium and heroin by attaching to the same parts of the brain that receive opioids.
This year, along with Hempstead, Narcan training sessions have been offered in Babylon, Riverhead and Shelter Island, where in August six people died after overdosing on what police believe was cocaine laced with fentanyl, an opioid.
