The Evanston Public Library will hold a free training session July 16 for community members to learn how to administer naloxone, a commonly used antidote for opioid overdoses, according to a news release.

The program will include presentations from Peer Services, a substance use treatment and prevention center, and Live4Lali, a nonprofit that focuses on opioid addiction prevention, advocacy and educational training, the release said. CVS will also be at the event to hand out coupons for Narcan, a device that administers naloxone, and discuss how to access the medication at the pharmacy.

Opioid addiction is a growing problem in the United States. In Illinois alone, opioid overdoses killed 1,946 people in 2016, an 82 percent increase from 2013, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. The EPL program will teach participants how to obtain and use naloxone, in addition to providing information about the opioid epidemic and signs that someone is overdosing.

The release said the training at EPL, sponsored by the library and the city, is one of the first community-based programs of its kind.

“Addiction does not discriminate on age, race, or income status,” the release said. “One of the intents of the program is to shift the perspective on addiction from criminalization to recovery and to understand that addiction is a disease.”

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