SENATOR AMEDORE TO HOST COMMUNITY NARCAN TRAINING AND SHED THE MEDS PROGRAM

October 19, 2015

Senator George Amedore today announced he will host a free community narcan training on Saturday, October 24^th at 10 am at the Cornell Hook and Ladder Company in New Baltimore.

A presentation on opiate overdose prevention and response will be given by representatives from Catholic Charities’ Project Safe Point program. Participants will learn how to recognize the signs and symptoms of an overdose, understand the risk factors associated with overdose, and learn how to reverse the effects of an overdose with the drug naloxone (narcan). Trained attendees will be given a kit containing naloxone.

Also, from 9 am – 12 pm at the same location, Senator Amedore will be partnering with the Greene County Sheriff’s office to host a Shed the Meds program to give residents an opportunity to safely dispose of unwanted or expired prescription medications. Just drive up and drop them off – the Sheriff’s office will be on hand to safely dispose of them.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to tour the Albany County Sheriff’s mobile education center to learn about various factors and dangers surrounding drug addiction, ending with incarceration. The unique feature of the mobile education center is that it comes fully equipped with a functioning jail cell.

“We need to do everything possible to combat the heroin epidemic that is devastating our community, including as many people are trained and prepared to help if a family member, friend or loved on is overdosing. A dose of narcan can literally be the difference between life and death,” said Senator George Amedore. “Just as important is properly disposing of unused or old medications, which serves a dual purpose. It keeps them from damaging our waterways and our environment, and also keeps them from falling into the hands of would-be abusers.”

“It’s so important to properly dispose of expired or unused prescription medications,” said Greene County Sheriff Greg Seeley. “The drug take back is a great program that we’ve had great success with throughout Greene County – the more of these drugs we can get out of houses and properly disposed of, the less chance they have of making their way onto the streets or into the wrong hands.”

“The heroin epidemic in our State is alarming. Addiction rates are staggering and the impact on families is devastating. In June of this year Town Clerk Barbara Finke and I attended this session in Guilderland and found it to be extremely educational and emotional. I thank Senator Amedore, Sheriff Seeley, Sheriff Apple, and Catholic Charities for sponsoring this community awareness program and Cornell Hook and Ladder for hosting this event. As a parent and grandparent, I encourage everyone to attend,” said New Baltimore Town Supervisor Nick Dellisanti.

Narcan training is free and open to the public, but attendees must RSVP to Senator Amedore’s office at 518-455-2350 or amedore@nysenate.gov.

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