PISCATAWAY, NJ, Nov. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Piscataway High School Senior Tanvi Narava is on a mission to fight the opioid epidemic in her community and New Jersey’s Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day was the ideal opportunity to do it.
Narava, who is working on her Girl Scout Gold Award Project, is dedicated to doing the work to educate her peers and community about the dangers of opioids and the importance of overdose awareness and prevention. She joined forces with the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) to create and record a webinar as part of the Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day initiative to get the important and lifesaving messages out to not just her peers and community but the entire state about identifying and responding to an opioid overdose.
Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day is a statewide event that raises awareness about the opioid crisis in communities across the state and is coordinated by PDFNJ.
Narava’s webinar shares tips on recognizing the signs of an opioid overdose and provides tips on responding to an overdose, and the importance of accessing and administering naloxone.
” I want to make everyone life savers,” Narava said, who also hopes her Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day activities help reduce the stigma surrounding the opioid crisis. “I want my peers and those that watch this webinar to feel that they can and should spread important information about opioids with their family and friends and help save a life if they witness an overdose.”
“Tavni’s collaboration with Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day is exactly what the initiative is about – ordinary residents taking the time to educate their family, friends and neighbors about the dangers and risks of opioids, and how to help save lives,” said Angela Conover, PDFNJ’s Director of Opioid Response and Prevention. “Tanvi’s efforts in creating a webinar for her Girl Scout Gold Award and her community will go a long way to help break down the stigma surrounding opioid addiction and that will ultimately save lives by empowering others to take action to stem the tide of the opioid epidemic.”
The webinar Narava recorded is part of a year long series available as a free resource on the Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day website and can be accessed by visiting https://knockoutday.drugfreenj.org/training/.
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Best known for its statewide substance use prevention advertising campaign, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is a private not-for-profit coalition of professionals from the communications, corporate and government communities whose collective mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs in New Jersey through media communication. To date, more than $200 million in broadcast time and print space has been donated to the Partnership’s New Jersey campaign, making it the largest public service advertising campaign in New Jersey’s history. Since its inception, the Partnership has garnered 230 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations.
