From the blog of Angela Thor, CLRC Medical Circuit Librarian…

Since 1999, deaths due to drug overdoses have been on the rise. Libraries have become involved in the battle on the reactive side, stocking NARCAN and training staff to recognize the signs of an overdose and to administer the drug. But as they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

The Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma had an extremely high rate of deaths by overdose and decided they needed to work proactively as well as reactively. Their program is called Define Your Direction, and it involves the whole community in the prevention of drug abuse. Their presentation, Tackling the Opioid Epidemic in the Chickasaw Nation, offers guidance on how communities can come up with a program tailored for their needs. There’s some great information there that could help libraries and their communities come up with their own program. I particularly appreciated that the group shared the problems as well as the successes.

The Chickasaws partnered with SAMHSA, their local Department of Health, and the regional tribal health board. Besides SAMHSA, libraries can also consider reaching out to their county health department and to their regional National Network of Libraries of Medicine.

CLRC (CNY Library Resources Council) members who would like to test the waters can apply for a New Initiatives Grant.

If your library has prevention programming or marketing materials you would like to share, please post on the blog’s comment section or contact Angela by email athor@clrc.org or phone/text: 315 256-3198.

Visit the CLRC Medical Resources page and Angela’s blog – Thor Points and Medical Musings.