Light of Hope hosts Narcan training course in south Tulsa

Rogers County Emergency Management and Light of Hope teamed up on Tuesday to provide a free Narcan training course.

Guests learned how to recognize the signs of an opioid overdose and how to administer the reversal drug, Narcan.

“The education piece has been missing. We have to start with education first and that’s what the Light of Hope is all about is getting this education out,” said Steve Massey, deputy director for Rogers County Emergency Management.

FOX23 spoke with Ce'gon Shoeleh who used to be an addict and said Narcan saved her life several times.

“The main goal here is to squash the stigma that is addiction and overdose because a lot of people, I've noticed, think that overdoses happen to addicts. They think that overdoses happen to people who recreationally use drugs on a regular basis and that's just not the case. You know, we're losing children, we're losing teenagers that think that they're taking one pill and they're taking fentanyl and they have no idea. Before they can even get help they're already gone,” Shoeleh said.

She believes that people should know how to use NARCAN just like they know how to use an EpiPen.

Executive Director of Light of Hope Nancy Phelps said they are an organization that helps families that are going through recovery and the preventive side of addiction.

Phelps said Narcan should be in everyone’s medicine cabinet.

“It’s just too prevalent. Fentanyl is becoming an epidemic and it could be our new pandemic unfortunately. It’s out there for everybody and there’s no sector of people it gears toward. Everybody is being affected by it. Every family is being affected,” Phelps said.

Southern Hills United Methodist Church hosted the event and Pastor Tracey Ivy said their administrative assistant brought the opportunity to them from Light of Hope.

“Our mission is that we reach out to the community and share whatever information that we can to make our community healthy and well educated.

Tuesday’s event was held in south Tulsa, but organizers said they plan on similar events in Chelsea and Verdigris in the future.

For more information about Light of Hope, click here .