As opioid deaths continue across Santa Barbara County, community groups have started hosting trainings for administering naloxone, a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose.
At a Tuesday night workshop at the Unity Shoppe in Santa Barbara, participants got to practice administering doses of the medication, and learned how to recognize and react to an overdose. The event was hosted by the Rotary Action Group for Addiction Prevention and Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Sunrise.
Naloxone, also known as the brand Narcan, can be administered to people who are in the middle of an overdose of opioids, such as heroin or fentanyl.
Attendees were also given single doses of the Kloxxado brand naloxone nasal spray in case they need it in the future.
“Our goal is to serve Santa Barbara County,” said Angela Miller-Bevan, executive director of the Unity Shoppe.
The presentation comes as deaths from overdoses have increased across Santa Barbara County. Aug. 31 marked International Overdose Prevention Day, which is meant to encourage education about overdoses.
There were 226 overdose deaths in the county in 2023, with most of them related to fentanyl, according to the Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness.
Overdoses have surged 51% in recent years, Sheriff Bill Brown said in April. There were 146 overdoses reported in the county in 2021 and 164 in 2022.
Overdoses from fentanyl also have increased 43% in the past three years. Authorities recorded 78 fentanyl overdose deaths in 2021, 117 in 2022 and 112 in 2023.
The increase in overdoses is what motivated Scott Burns, a member of the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Sunrise, to develop the class.
Burns has been working toward hosting the workshop for a year and is one of only a few chapters of the Rotary Club to offer the class in California.
He said the goal is to help people struggling with addiction. The class does not just show how to treat overdoses but explains that people with addiction issues need help.
Burns walked the audience through the steps of administering the naloxone doses. The type being handed out was a nasal spray that could be easily dispensed with a push.
He explained that there is more than one type of naloxone, including needles. However, people seem to be more comfortable with the nasal sprays.
The doses are good for up to 10 years and can be stored in a purse, a bag or a vehicle.
Burns explained that speed is important in opioid overdoses, where people can die in about 15 minutes. If properly administered, naloxone can begin working in less than five minutes.
One of the benefits of naloxone is that it is non-addictive and has no risk of an overdose.
Burns said lives can be saved by providing doses of naloxone and training.
“If somebody [is having] an overdose, you want to be able to help them,” Burns told Noozhawk. “You don’t want to just go, ‘Oh, look there’s a problem.’ You want to save somebody’s life because that somebody is a son or a daughter or a brother.”
One of the people who attended the training was Eonja Brown, who works with Families ACT! and is a founding member.
Brown said she did not know much about naloxone and that she learned how fast it can work if properly administered.
“I think it was excellent. He did an awesome job. I learned a lot. I think people that participated also learned a lot about naloxone and how you give it and what are the signs to look for,” Brown said.
More information on opioids, naloxone and how to get doses of naloxone for free can be found on the Santa Barbara Opioid Safety Coalition’s website and on the Behavior Wellness Fentanyl is Forever website.
