Maumee Valley Guidance Center is proud to serve as a Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided With Naloxone) distribution site, helping individuals, families, and communities reduce opioid overdose deaths through education, prevention, and harm reduction.
Project DAWN is a statewide initiative coordinated by the Ohio Department of Health that provides free opioid overdose education, naloxone (Narcan®), and drug checking test strips. Naloxone is a safe, easy-to-administer medication that can rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, giving individuals a second chance while emergency medical services are on the way.
Our Project DAWN program is committed to increasing access to lifesaving resources, reducing the stigma surrounding substance use disorders, and
empowering community members with the knowledge and tools needed to respond to an overdose emergency. Whether you are someone at risk of overdose, a family member, a friend, or a concerned community member, we encourage you to learn how naloxone can save lives.
Project DAWN is named in memory of Leslie Dawn Cooper, whose life was lost to an opioid overdose in 2009. Since the first Project DAWN site opened in Portsmouth, Ohio, in 2012, the program has expanded to more than 500 distribution sites serving communities across the state.
If you would like to be trained and receive naloxone or learn more about overdose prevention and harm reduction, contact Maumee Valley Guidance Center today.
Together, we can save lives and strengthen the health of our communities.
What is an opioid?
Opioids are a class of drugs used to relieve pain. They include prescription medications such as morphine, methadone, codeine, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, and buprenorphine. Common brand names include Vicodin®, Lortab®, Percocet®, OxyContin®, Dilaudid®, and Demerol®.
Heroin is also an opioid. In addition, fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is prescribed for severe pain but is also frequently manufactured illegally. Illicit fentanyl is often mixed with heroin or other street drugs, including cocaine and methamphetamine, greatly increasing the risk of overdose because users may not know it is present.
Who is at risk of opioid overdose?
Anyone who uses high doses of opioid pain medication or uses opioids recreationally is at risk of overdose.
Several factors can increase the risk of experiencing an opioid overdose, including:
- Using opioids together with other substances such as alcohol, antidepressants, or benzodiazepines (such as Xanax® or Valium®). These substances can slow or stop breathing when combined with opioids.
- Using street drugs such as cocaine or methamphetamine, which may be contaminated with fentanyl without your knowledge.
- Having certain health conditions, including asthma, liver disease, kidney disease, heart disease, or HIV/AIDS.
- Having a reduced tolerance to opioids after a period of not using them, such as following release from jail, hospitalization, or completion of an inpatient treatment program. Even doses that were previously tolerated can become life-threatening.