Honolulu Civil Beat ran a feature story on August 20 regarding an emerging partnership to connect those who have experienced an opioid overdose in public spaces and are revived by the Honolulu Emergency Services Department (EMS).
HHHRC Executive Director Heather Lusk noted the benefits of obtaining a referral: “It’s trying to take something that could be one of the worst days, which is an overdose, and leverage it for more access to resources, support and for folks to, if they’re ready, willing or able, to get into treatment.”
More from the article:
While [HHHRC] already does some post-overdose outreach, its workers rely mainly on coconut wireless to find out when there’s been an overdose in the community. Lusk said a formal partnership with EMS would allow her outreach team to intercept more people in the critical moments after an overdose…
Lusk said for those who aren’t ready to seek treatment, it’s important they continue to use safely until they’re ready to make that change. Outreach workers can help them by providing supplies, like naloxone, fentanyl test strips and clean needles. Some may see this kind of assistance as enabling, but Lusk, who is in recovery herself, says it’s life-saving.
“If you die of an overdose, you don’t have a chance of recovery,” she said. “And so I would hope that everybody believes that every life is worth saving so that people have the opportunity to recover and make different choices.”
The story also highlighted the experience of a program participant who was revived and later helped by HHHRC to get identity documents to secure health care services and other needed support.
Outreach worker Mim Shukrun was pictured offering supplies to a participant at the outreach van in Chinatown.
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