WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — A Fayette County addiction outreach team will set up shop at the courthouse gazebo Tuesday afternoon, handing out free naloxone and overdose prevention training to anyone who stops by.
The Pathways Overdose Response Team, known as P.O.R.T., is holding the pop-up event from 3 p.m. Tuesday at the gazebo on the Fayette County Courthouse lawn in Washington Court House, according to a Facebook post from Fayette County Pathways to Recovery. The team is partnering with the Washington Court House City Police Department, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Pickaway Area Recovery Services and local peer support volunteers for the event.
Organizers said the pop-up will offer free Narcan, hands-on training in how to use it, substance abuse education, and connections to recovery and community resources. The event is open to anyone, whether they are seeking support for themselves or a loved one, want to learn how to respond to an overdose, or simply want to connect with local resources, the group said in its post.
P.O.R.T. operates under the Pathways to Recovery program run by the Community Action Commission of Fayette County, which works to reduce deaths from opioid overdoses countywide. The program provides emergency response to overdoses, harm reduction education, naloxone distribution, treatment referrals, case management and transportation assistance for people in recovery, according to the commission. Fayette County residents can also reach the program directly at 740-463-1009.
Pickaway Area Recovery Services, one of Tuesday’s partner agencies, has provided substance use and mental health treatment in the region since 1978. The nonprofit serves Fayette, Fairfield and Pickaway counties with outpatient counseling, residential treatment and prevention programming, according to the organization.
Tuesday’s pop-up follows an overdose awareness event Fayette County Public Health and other recovery organizations held on the courthouse lawn earlier this month, part of a broader push by local agencies to keep addiction resources visible and accessible in the community.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Fayette County Pathways to Recovery’s Facebook page.
