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An opioid overdose remembrance in Lafayette drew the mayors of both Lafayette and West Lafayette and officials to Columbian Park in late August. The Drug-Free Coalition of Tippecanoe County organized the Overdose Remembrance and Awareness Event to honor locals who died of overdose and support those in recovery. Community Events Sit Alongside Treatment Indiana features …
Lafayette, Indiana Remembers Lives Lost to Opioid Overdose
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An opioid overdose remembrance in Lafayette drew the mayors of both Lafayette and West Lafayette and officials to Columbian Park in late August. The Drug-Free Coalition of Tippecanoe County organized the Overdose Remembrance and Awareness Event to honor locals who died of overdose and support those in recovery.
Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski, West Lafayette Mayor Erin Easter, Tippecanoe County Commissioner Tracy Brown and County Sheriff Bob Goldsmith attended. The event featured a free dinner and a keynote from Jamie Bolinger of the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office. It made for a special day for Overdose Awareness Month.
Community Events Sit Alongside Treatment
Indiana features many programs to tackle substance misuse, including local Narcotics Anonymous chapters. But remembrance events have extra features. They mark loss publicly in ways that funerals for overdose deaths don’t. They also put local organizations in contact with families most likely to need them.
Hoosiers across the state have known loss, from young mothers to those caught up in prescription drug abuse. People worried over family members could drop by a resource table staffed by peers to talk is often the first step.
Opioid Overdose
Opioids include prescription medication and street trade fentanyl. They act on receptors in the brain and brainstem that control pain and breathing. An opioid overdose kills by slowing or stopping respiration.
Illegal fentanyl has changed the drug scene. It’s much deadlier than heroin and is often laced into counterfeit pills and in powders sold as other substances. Folks might ingest a fatal dose without knowing an opioid was present.
Responding with Harm Reduction
Naloxone reverses an opioid overdose by restoring breathing. It’s available to Hoosiers without a prescription at pharmacies and free through many community distribution programs. It can’t hurt anyone, so still give it even if you’re unsure.
Call 911 first. Indiana’s Good Samaritan provisions protect those who summon help in an overdose emergency. Stay until responders arrive because naloxone can wear off before the opioid does.
Fentanyl test strips let a person check a substance for fentanyl before use.
Treatment Options in Indiana
Medication for opioid use disorders are federally regulated and can be prescribed in office-based settings.
Medication usually goes with peer counseling. Some people use medication and attend meetings. Some use one or the other.
NA a First and Lasting Step
Narcotics Anonymous is a peer support fellowship for people recovering from drug use of any kind. Meetings are free. There aren’t any membership requirements beyond a desire to stop using.
Meeting formats vary. Open meetings welcome anyone, including people who’re simply curious. Closed meetings are for members only. Some focus on NA literature or have an open discussion. Many areas offer virtual options for people without transportation.
For someone in Tippecanoe County who attended the remembrance event and wants a next step, an NA meeting is one of the few that requires no appointment, insurance or paperwork.
Feel free to browse NA meetings for any location in the USA via our online directory.
You can also dial 800-934-1582(Sponsored) to chat with an expert and find local options.
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