Making a push to prevent more overdose deaths in New Haven. New Haven police officers will soon have pouches to carry Narcan on them, and it’s all thanks to the efforts of a local nonprofit.
Making a push to prevent more overdose deaths in New Haven. New Haven police officers will soon have pouches to carry Narcan on them, and it’s all thanks to the efforts of a local nonprofit.
It won’t be long before New Haven police officers are able to carry Narcan. That’s thanks to a donation from the nonprofit, For Cameron, which works to overcome the stigma surrounding drug addiction and overdose.
“Sometimes the officers are the first on the scene and you really only have a very short window of time to reverse a fatal overdose,” Fiona Firine, For Cameron president and co-founder, said.
She said the nonprofit raised $5,700 to buy Narcan pouches so every New Haven police officer is equipped.
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She said the department, particularly Chief Karl Jacobson, has been supportive of their efforts. Their donation was unanimously approved during Monday’s Board of Alders meeting.
“We see this as such a positive step, knowing that this could save the life of New Haven residents,” Firine said.
This comes as overdose deaths across Connecticut have dropped so far this year. The latest stats from the Connecticut Department of Health show 692 deaths as of August.
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That’s compared to 924 deaths last year during the same eight month period, about a 25% decrease.
Firine said it’s an encouraging trend, but it’s not clear what’s behind it.
“We're going to need the information on why there's a decline to be able to make sure that we keep this trend going,” she said.
Some people in the city feel it could make a difference for overdose victims.
“You don’t want them necessarily just dying. You want them to at least come back. At least come back around,” Marquis Faison, of New Haven, said.
Firine hopes New Haven can serve as an example to start conversations with other police departments across the state.
“Anybody who's in any kind of a first responder position should be carrying Narcan,” she said.
Firine said a standard operating procedure still needs to be created by New Haven police before officers can start carrying Narcan, but the goal is for them to have it by March.
