Philadelphia Drug Addicts Receive Life Saving Help From Librarians 

TEMECULA, Calif., March 27, 2018 -- Heroin Detox Clinics release new Philadelphia post illustrates drug addiction and treatment in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.  Some areas are so bad that librarians are assisting in helping with overdose victims. Librarians are one more group of first responders using Narcan to revive the growing number of opioid overdoses in cities like Philadelphia. The heroin drug rehab Philadelphia post shows the issues related to opiate or heroin abuse and drug treatment center opportunities.

Philadelphia Drug Addicts Receive Life Saving Help From Librarians

McPherson Square Library, located near a drug infested poverty area, used to be called the Cinderella Steps and now the park right out front is called Needle Park.  Philadelphia is known to drug users as having the purest heroin and so it draws many users to experience the purity only to end up overdosing on the grass or in the library bathroom. 

Libraries used to be a place for children to enjoy hearing stories read, a haven for book lovers to find the next great read, and students doing their research and homework.  Today, libraries are increasingly becoming daytime hangouts for the homeless and addicts.  There have been overdose deaths in libraries in many cities.  McPherson Square Library has a librarian, Chera Kowalski,  that has saved six lives using Narcan to revive overdosing patrons, both inside the library and out of the lawn in front.  Librarians are being trained in how to use Narcan, the lifesaving overdose antidote. At the request of Chera Kowalski,  Prevention Point, a neighborhood nonprofit that provides harm reduction services gave the staff two workshops on opioids and substance abuse disorder. In February 2017, 26 library staff from 6 Philadelphia libraries—librarians, librarian assistants, and guards—went through overdose reversal training. There is a sign on the bathroom door that there is a 3-5 minute time limit due to the bathroom drug use and overdose activity. They have been dealing with overdoses so often they can tell the type of overdose just by the sound coming from the bathroom. Heroin victims slide down into the unconscious state of overdose while the users who overdose on fentanyl collapse on the floor that can be heard throughout the library. Librarians walk up and down the aisles and check for anyone passed out at the tables.  They are having to add a very serious duty to their jobs. Julie Todaro, president of the American Library Association, told CNN, "We have to figure out quickly the critical steps that people have to take so we can be partners in the solution of this problem,"  Training the librarians and the library security staff on how to administer Narcan is one of the first steps right now. Read CNN article here https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/23/health/opioid-overdose-library-narcan/index.html

Philadelphia lost 900 people to opioid related overdoses last year and is on track to lose 1200 more this year.  Opioids attach themselves to the body's natural opioid receptors, numbing pain and slowing breathing. Naloxone kicks opioids off the body's receptors and can restart regular breathing. Naloxone, or Narcan, is squirted into the nose or injected into a muscle when someone overdoses.  Philadelphia Fire and EMS used Narcan approximately 4200 times last year according to Captain William Dixon. Entering a Philadelphia addiction treatment center and receiving proper care can be the difference between staying alive or falling victim to an overdose.

Along with the Narcan training, the McPherson librarians, along with Impact and Angels in Motion, worked with Prevention Point Philadelphia on plans for needle-disposal boxes in the park. They are working on having a full-time outreach worker to be stationed at the library.  The creation of safe-injection sites is still controversial and has not been an adopted program.  Other cities have had success with a reduction in overdoses as well as a reduction in the spread of needle related diseases being passed on, so safe-injection sites may be introduced in the near future. Find out more about heroin drug rehabs and the help they can provide by contacting a recovery helpline and speak with an addiction specialist.

Author: William Leonard
Organization: HeroinDetoxClinics.com
Address: 27420 Jefferson Ave, Temecula, CA 92590
Phone: 888-325-2454
http://heroindetoxclinics.com/

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/867488cd-d4fb-4af2-b0ed-6efc8416dc91