As heroin continues to be an issue in the Fox Valley, the Winnebago County Heroin Task Force and the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin are working to fight the problem and help the community.
The two provided a free, public Naloxone (Narcan) training session Thursday in Oshkosh, inviting friends and family members of opiate abusers to learn how they can help their loved ones.
Narcan can reverse an opiate overdose from heroin or abusing prescription pain relievers. According to the Winnebago County Heroin Task Force's website, 77 people were saved by Narcan in the county in 2014.
While she has never had to use Narcan to help someone, training attendee Julie Williams has seen firsthand the effects of heroin addiction.
"When my daughter was going through the addiction herself, I felt like I was the only parent out there," Williams said.
That's why she now works to help others who are either battling addiction themselves or trying to help loved ones. She attended the training tonight to help others understand that saving someone's life with Narcan could help them down the road to recovery.
"I believe that Narcan is so important because you have to save a life in order to get them into treatment," Williams said.
The training was led by Scott Stokes from the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, who said family and friends are the target audience for the session.
"Oftentimes a family member or a loved one might be the first one on the scene when somebody has overdosed," Stokes said.
The next training session is May 12th at 7 p.m. at the Neenah Public Library.
