Anglican ministers in Ottawa learn how to use naloxone kits

With reports of opioid overdoses on the rise in Ottawa, members of the city'sAnglican churchspent Thursday learning how to administer the potentially life-savingantidote.

About 20clergy members attendeda naloxonekit workshop organized by Rev. Monique Stone, the priest at the Anglican Parish ofHuntleyin Carp.

"We all have a part to play," Stone said."We have to look at how we create the strongest net to combat this issue, and the strongest net is not something any of us can create in isolation."

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Stone, whose own daughter is 16, said news of aseries of recent overdoses in Kanata along with an open letter from thefather of an addicted teen has made naloxone access and awareness more urgent.

"We have adefibrillator," she said. "Whywouldn't we have analoxonekit?"

Naloxone can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose and save a person's life. Access to the antidote is becoming a particularly pressing issue, especially with fentanyl which was linked to 14 opioid deaths in 2015 spreading quickly across the country.

I have been in the position of calling the ambulance for people who have overdosed.- Rev. Beth Bretzlaff ofSt. John theEvangelist

In January, Canada's big city mayors, including Ottawa's Jim Watson,called on PrimeMinister JustinTrudeauto createa co-ordinated national response to the fentanylcrisis.

The mayors toldTrudeauopioidabuse is one of the most significant problems Canadian municipalities are facing.

Then, last week, Ottawa police charged 12 people in connection with what they called the city's largest fentanyl bust ever.

Second naloxoneworkshop planned

Stone said she's organizinga second naloxone workshop at the end of March that's open to the wider community.

That class, whose registered attendees range in age from 12 to 70, is already filled up with30 people on the waiting list, she said.

"People in publicpositions need to helpwithde-stigmatizing [drug addiction]and help the cause," Stone told CBC News.

"There is some fear or judgement in going to a drugstore and asking for a naloxonekit. [If]we can bring down the stigma that surrounds that, then I believe we have a role to play,as other community members have a role to play as well."

'Right in the middle of it'

Rev. BethBretzlaff, priest at St. John the Evangelist inCentretown, was one of the clergy participating in the workshop.

"We're right in the middle of it," said Bretzlaff, whose church runs The Well, a drop-in day programfor women.

"Our building is open about 12 hours a day or more, and we have lots of people who come in off the streets ... I have been in the position of calling the ambulance for people who have overdosed."

Bretzlaff said that if the Anglican church can play a role in improving access to naloxone, it's an opportunity to let people know"we're a place they can come to and that we're safe."

Stone addedthe opioid antidote workshop is consistent with thechurch's traditional role in the lives of parishioners.

"We are constantly, almost every day, playing a role in people's health. Whether they're coming to the end of their lives, or experiencing treatments in cancer, we are always involved."