The final day of August marks International Overdose Awareness Day, and the Whatcom County Health Department’s harm reduction program set up a station outside Bellingham Public Library to provide the community with resources and free Naloxone.
Volunteers and health department employees set up a tent in Lee Memorial Park to provide the medication, which can quickly reverse an opioid overdose.
Along with the Naloxone, those at the pop-up tent provided information on how to spot an overdose, how to properly administer the medication, and answered the community’s questions.
Volunteers and employees also explained Washington State’s Good Samaritan law, which prevents those seeking medical assistance in a drug-related overdose from being prosecuted for possession.
This is the second year the Whatcom County Health Department has participated in overdose awareness day, though last year’s event was much smaller and shorter than the department would have liked due to COVID-19.
Lela Riherd, interim supervisor at the Health Department, said there’s been an increase in overdoses since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the department is unsure if this is due to a disruption of services.
In 2021, there were 88 investigated accidental deaths in Whatcom County, 50 of which were drug overdoses.
“We’re trying to get information out and awareness out to the community,” Riherd said.
In addition to spreading overdose awareness, the harm reduction program has operated syringe service clinics, where it exchanges and safely disposes of used needles in order to reduce diseases like HIV or Hepatitis C.