Coming together to end overdose
August 1, 2024
International Overdose Awareness Day is held each year on 31 August. Anglicare Tasmania is marking it with opportunities to come together and remember lives lost, while sharing information about overdose prevention.
Anglicare’s Needle and Syringe Program (NSP) outlets are on the frontline of drug-related harm reduction in the Tasmanian community. Funded by the State government, the program is a public health initiative that prevents and reduces the transmission of blood-borne viruses in the community. People can come to the NSP to collect free, sterile injecting equipment and talk confidentially with experienced and friendly professionals about harm reduction if they wish to do so.
NSPs also save lives by distributing supplies of the overdose reversal drug naloxone and testing strips for the potentially lethal additive, fentanyl.
Staff members will always encourage people who are going to inject a drug to do so while in the company of at least one other person, so that there is someone who can provide assistance in the event of an overdose.
Naloxone comes in an easy-to-use nasal spray that can be administered to a person who is experiencing an overdose. It is still essential that someone calls 000 and requests an ambulance. The police will not become involved.
Naloxone is now available at some community pharmacies free of charge, in recognition that most fatal opioid overdoses in Australia are caused by prescription opioids rather than illicit drugs.
Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid that can be added to heroin and other drugs that sit outside the opioid family, such as cocaine, MDMA and methamphetamines. Free testing strips that detect the presence of fentanyl in pills, powders or injectables provide people with an informed choice.
A new family of drugs named nitazenes has recently been connected to fatalities in Australia.
Colette’s story: a life-saving conversation
Colette*, in their 40s, has been injecting methamphetamines over a long period. They visit their local Anglicare-run NSP outlet from time to time to collect sterile injecting equipment and developed a rapport with the staff there.
Earlier this year, while Colette was attending a Hepatitis C testing clinic at the NSP, they were asked by a worker whether they knew how to use naloxone in the event of an overdose. Colette had heard a little about naloxone but wasn’t sure how to use it. The worker discussed what an overdose might feel like, gave a demonstration of how to use naloxone and Colette took a box home. They also took some fentanyl testing strips with them.
Just one week later Colette phoned the NSP: “You have saved my life,” they said. The conversation with the NSP worker meant they could recognise the signs of the odd reaction they experienced to the drug they injected over the weekend. Naloxone was administered, and this relieved Colette’s overdose symptoms within 30 seconds. They also used the testing strip and found that fentanyl had been present. The Department of Health was informed and a statewide alert was issued.
*We have changed the client’s name to protect their privacy.
Bringing grief into the light
NSP worker Jo Murphy reflects on the importance of non-judgmental support for people touched by overdose on and around International Overdose Awareness Day (IAOD).
“It’s a difficult time of year for many people, as they reflect on the loss of their loved ones,” she says. “IOAD provides an opportunity to acknowledge and share the grief of being left behind, without the burden of stigma and discrimination. And it’s this environment of wrap-around support and compassion that people can find every day when they visit an NSP.”
Planting the seeds of recovery
A working bee held in late July has beautified Anglicare’s Overdose Awareness Memorial Garden, located in the grounds of our Glenorchy office. Seven people impacted by overdose came together to design and establish new plantings for the garden that feature the signature purple of IAOD and white roses for remembrance.
People whose lives have been impacted by overdose are warmly invited to join us in the Memorial Garden for a private event:
When: 8.30 am – 9.30 am on Wednesday, 28 August
Where: The Overdose Awareness Memorial Garden, Anglicare’s Glenorchy office, 436 Main Road, Glenorchy
What: Share a FREE BBQ breakfast with us and pay your respects to your loved ones as we reflect and remember lives lost to drug overdose. Handmade flowers and laminated hearts will be provided so that you can write a message and add it to the memorial.
Please RSVP here on Eventbrite (for catering purposes).
Launceston event details
Anglicare is also joining with the Salvation Army, Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drugs Council (ATDC) and the Drug Education Network for a FREE community event to be held on Monday 2 September between 11.30 am and 1 pm at the Salvation Army office, 111 Elizabeth Street, Launceston. It will feature speakers with lived experience, information about naloxone, origami crane folding and a light lunch. Please RSVP here on Eventbrite.
Youth, Family and Community Connections is hosting a similar event in Burnie.
Please drop in to your nearest NSP in the lead-up to International Overdose Awareness Day or on the day itself to share your story and add your personal touch to a display. Each year the Alcohol Tobacco and other Drugs Council Tasmania holds events that feature origami cranes. If you live in Launceston, you can collect crane supplies from Anglicare’s Launceston office at 122 Elizabeth Street, Launceston.
Further information
What should I do if I think someone I’m with has overdosed?
The signs of an overdose are:
- the person is not breathing
- the person is breathing, but it is shallow and/or erratic
- the person’s fingertips and/or lips have turned blue or grey. This indicates there is not enough oxygen reaching the brain
- there is no response at all when you try and wake the person up.
Call an ambulance immediately. If you have naloxone at hand, use it. It cannot cause harm. If it’s safe to do so, have the person lie on their back, tilt their head back, check their nasal passage is clear and administer the spray. It’s important to stay with the person until the ambulance arrives.
The Anglicare Drug and Alcohol Treatment Service (ADATS) is a program for Tasmanians over the age of 14 who are experiencing negative impacts from the use of alcohol and/or other drugs.
In June 2023 Anglicare’s Social Action and Research Centre published a paper called Action for a healthier community: an effective response to illicit drugs.
