Mastic Beach, NY - September 12, 2016 - The Family Service League’s William Floyd Family Center in collaboration with U.S. Congressman Lee Zeldin, will be hosting a free Naloxone training and resource fair for local residents on Friday, September 23 from 6-8 pm in the William Floyd High School auditorium. Naloxone, better known under its brand name, Narcan, is a prescription medicine that blocks the effects of opioids and reverses an overdose.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes heroin and opioid use as an epidemic that knows no boundaries. “Heroin use has increased across the United States among men and women, most age groups and all income levels,” according to the CDC website.

The training and resource fair will include guest speakers sharing their personal stories, representatives from various organizations that specialize in treatment, rehabilitation, education and awareness, as well as a representative from the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD) who will conduct the Naloxone training. The first 50 families will receive one free Naloxone kit.

“Combatting drug addiction and overdose requires a multi-faceted approach that includes prevention, treatment and counseling,” said Karen Boorshtein, President and CEO of Family Service League. “Family Service League has a long track record of helping individuals overcome addictions. When overdose does happen – and it occurs all too often as we’ve seen lately in our communities – Narcan is an effective way to reverse overdose. FSL is proud to partner with the William Floyd School District and Congressman Lee Zeldin to provide training so that more people can administer this life-saving medication.”

Congressman Lee Zeldin, member of the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic in the House of Representatives, said, “Our communities and families have been severely impacted by the rise of prescription drug abuse and the growing heroin crisis. In Congress, I have been working to combat this growing epidemic that is plaguing our country and taking hold of our loved ones. Through a three-pronged approach focusing on treatment, enforcement, and education, we can overcome this crisis. Equally needed is an increase in the supply and training of how to administer the lifesaving medication, Naloxone, or Narcan, which reverses an overdose within minutes. It only takes five minutes to train a person with no medical training on how to identify signs of an overdose and administer Narcan. The upcoming Narcan training and resource fair, which I am proud to host with the William Floyd Family Center, will help supply our community with the training needed to administer Narcan, which can save lives.”