JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Don’t miss the bus!
JTA’s Safety on The Move bus is traveling throughout Duval County providing training to the public about how to use Narcan to save someone’s life if they overdose.
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Naloxone, also known as Narcan, can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Drug Free Duval has partnered with JTA to provide the training, which is offered on board the stationary bus.
It was parked at Pearl Plaza on Wednesday morning in the Brentwood area.
The mobile classroom, which provides overdose education, is a first of its kind in the country.
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JTA has been training its frontline workers about overdose prevention for 2 years but just debuted the Safety on The Move bus last month.
“Opioid overdoses have been increasing exponentially over the past several years,” explained Chris Geraci, JTA’s Chief Safety and Security Officer. “One of the big areas where that happens is public transportation. We wanted to see what we could do to help the community.”
It’s why JTA partnered with Drug Free Duval, which provides training and free Narcan kits to the public. JTA uses data from the DEA and the CDC to look at EMS overdose calls in the city to determine where it will stop to provide the free training and kits.
Geraci said JTA understands the significance of helping to provide the free resource. One of its safety officers saved someone from an overdose.
“We had an unresponsive passenger who was in cardiac arrest that we administered Narcan to and revived him prior to rescue getting there,” said Geraci.
The intervention saved the passenger’s life.
At least 600 people in Duval County died last year from an opioid-related overdose. Another 133 people have been saved by a bystander who administered Narcan while waiting for first responders to arrive.
Overdose can happen to anyone, which is why Drug Free Duval’s founder, Susan Pitman, wants to educate as many people as possible about the warning signs of overdose and how to use Narcan.
The bus’ first stop was earlier this month on the Southside.
“We’ve had moms, dads, we have grandparents, sisters and brothers, businesspeople and families that just want to keep the community safe,” said Pitman about the people who stopped by, boarded the bus for the training session and then left with Narcan.
Pitman said the training is focused and not overwhelming.
“The training is not scary,” she said. “It takes 15-20 minutes. Everyone is welcome to ask questions. We will do it if we have a class of two or 20. We are prepared to meet people where they are.”
This is your chance to learn how to save a life. Pitman said no one has to provide any information to receive the training.
Attendees learn about the warning signs of overdose, the Good Samaritan Act, which protects a bystander from prosecution or liability when they use Narcan to save someone, and how to administer Narcan.
The Safety on The Move bus will visit two locations every month in Duval County.
Those locations are dictated by the data identifying EMS overdose calls, but JTA said if there is a business or organization that would like to have the bus provide training, it would love to hear from you.
You can contact Drug Free Duval to request a visit: click here.
The next bus stops will be Nov. 6 in Northwest Jacksonville and Nov. 19 on the Westside from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. both days. The exact locations are still being finalized.