This past Wednesday, the Substance Use Prevention Program, which is part of the University of Connecticut’s Student Health and Wellness (SHaW) held a documentary screening and Narcan (naloxone) training event in conjunction with SERAC, a Connecticut nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the impact of mental health, substance abuse, and gambling-related issues.
There are many at UConn that may be familiar with substance use disorders, and whether it’s through living in proximity with a user or struggling with it themselves. SHaW wants students to know that it has resources available.
“We are here to support students wherever they are at with their substance use,” said Audrey Jean-Guillame, the program manager for the Substance Use Prevention Initiatives at SHaW. “That can be students who choose not to use or students that arechoosing to use and helping them find a balance and reduce their risk of experiencing the not fun things that can come along with substance use.”
Nestled in a dimly lit conference room on the first floor of the Wilson building, the program provided pizza, drinks, fruit, cookies and a wide variety of SERAC merchandise, including chargers, squishies, keychains, pens and pins. In addition to this, attendees were provided with free naloxone, Fentanyl test strips, vessels for safe drug disposal and CPR mouth guards. All are invaluable resources should any drug-related emergencies occur.
Anu, a sixth-semester psychology and physiology and neurobiology major double who works as a Substance Use Risk Reduction Peer Health Educator, spoke about the importance of precaution should students choose to use substances.
“If you’re going to use substances, then make sure you know how to use them safely,” she said. “This can mean having Narcan on you … using small dosages of whatever substance you’re using and going slow with it, and also making sure you have a friend with you.”
Risk reduction was a major theme of the documentary screening event that SHaW and SERAC hosted on March 4.
The documentary shown at the event was titled “Tipping the Pain Scale” and followed the stories of individuals struggling with substance abuse across the United States, including NFL Player Darren Waller, 53rd mayor of Boston Marty Walsh and poet Joseph Green. Released in 2021, the documentary showcases the variety of ways in which drug abuse has impacted both individuals and communities, as well as how people in recovery work to give back to their communities throughout their healing journey. Art, sports, community service and legal action are all portrayed as avenues through which victims of drug abuse work to create a better future for themselves and their communities.
After the screening, attendees were given a brief but comprehensive training on the use of Narcan.
After the event, Jean-Guillame discussed the most important thing she thinks students should know regarding SHaW’s Substance Use Prevention Initiatives.
“One of my biggest things is just letting students know that this is a resource that we have available for them for free,” she said, stressing the wide variety of locations in which Narcan and other related resources are accessible for students. Students can find naloxone “through student health and wellness… they can access [it] in our vending machines for free, or they can stop by our office or the pharmacies.”
SHaW plans on hosting events like these in the future, and naloxone training is a regular program featured in the department. For any students looking to learn more about substance use, looking for resources for themselves or a loved one or just looking to learn skills that could potentially save lives, the Substance Use Prevention Program has ample resources to meet your needs.