The Moncton Public Library will be stocking at least one Naloxone kit in the building beginning in October.
The medication is used to block the effects of opioids, especially in the case of an overdose.
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Librarian Chantale Bellemare says three librarians have already been trained on how to recognize the signs of a drug overdose and will soon be trained on how to administer Naloxone.
“It’s a public place and like any public place, we never know what can happen and if we can save just one life by having those kits then we have to do it,” Bellemare said.
Larua Mason says she knew she would be handing out books when she became a librarian seven years ago but never imagined that one day she might be asked to help save a person overdosing on drugs.
“It never hurts to be prepared,” Mason said.
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The Naloxone kit training for librarians has been organized by AIDS organizations, including AIDS Moncton.
Debby Warren of AIDS Moncton says the kits will soon be handed out to frontline workers, such as those who work in soup kitchens and shelters, so including the public library just made sense.
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“In the daytime, what do they do in a lot of cases they go to the library. It’s from out of the weather first of all and they can read the newspaper and access the internet and just find a place to be,” Warren said.
Bellemare says to date, no one has ever overdosed at the Moncton Public Library. However, given the fact that more than 200,000 people use the library every year and amidst the growing concerns over Fentenyl use in the city, they want to be prepared.
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