Police survey

A few weeks ago I posted about creating a pamphlet concerning talking to the police. I also made a survey that people can fill out if they have an encounter with the police they are uncomfortable with. With the complicated needs of our clientele there have been reports of police harassing or waiting for our patients to leave and then trying to  persecute them. So we made a form they can fill out of they have any incidents.

Police Incident Report

Location: 

Badge number/ ID number 

Officers name 

Description of incident:

Date and time of incident:

Was naloxone confiscated:

Yes/No 

Were any unused supplies confiscated:

Yes/No

*If you were given a receipt you should attach it to this document or give it to a staff member to make a copy to attach

 

Current research with COVID

With COVID having an early second wave we are seeing the harm reduction community changing and adapting accordingly. We are seeing a lot of harm reduction agencies having to move backwards when it comes to opening up their services. They are having to have less person to person contact, move back towards rely on tele-medicine as the primary way to help their patients. At the Open Aid Alliance we are still delivering supplies to patients and only having the office open a few times a week with minimal staff. Hopefully with new guidelines/ laws being put in place we can see COVID final go away. 

Homework assignment

Part of my internship experience has been making a educational tool. I crafted a presentation to teach kids about the philosophies of harm reduction and how it is changing the world we live in. Below is a homework assignment I made for the presentation. We chose an educational path because we feel like not a lot of people know what harm reduction is or how it works. 

Name:_______________

Research Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to use one of the tools we learned about today. Research and proper information is a very important ideal in the practices of Harm Reduction.

Real vs. Phony:

In this exercise you need to find three different sources. Each on the same topic, a drug of your choosing. Find one source that is reliable, one that is semi reliable and one that is “phony”. For each source give an example that validates the source's reliability.

Phony:

 

 

Semi Reliable:

 

 

Reliable:

 

 Bias/ Privilege Assignment

Now that you have talked about some bias in the class. It is time for you to reflect on your own experiences with bias. Write down some of your personal experiences, they can be either times you have witnessed or experienced. Also write down some ways privilege has affected your life in a negative and positive way. Attach these reflections to this sheet.

 

 

Communication Assignment

When talking to people, there are certain ways to say things. When most people communicate with people who suffer with substance abuse disorder it is hostile or accusatory. Brainstorm some phrases that could be seen hostile and/or accusatory. Then think of ways to communicate better. Then write down how this could change people's lives and how it may be the first steps to help people down the path to recovery. Also attach your ideas to this paper.  

How to talk to the police.

Last week I started a pamphlet on how to talk to the police and what your rights are concerning being stopped. This week I finished that pamphlet. With the current political atmosphere around the United States, I feel like this is a very important pamphlet. It does not insight violence or aggression it just states what is legal and what is not and what you are legally allowed to do when you are stopped by an officer of the law.

Review of webinar

Last week I went to two webinars. One was in conversation with a medical provider about how to make drug treatment more encompassing and more accessible to people who need it The doctor they interview was Dr. Lynch. Dr. Lynch talked about how after initial treatment a lot of drug users do not fully know what resources are out there for them or how to access it. So Dr. Lynch created MATTERS. MATTERS is a program given to the hospitals that allows patients to see what resources are available to them based off of their location and circumstance. The patients fill out a little bit of information and within seconds they can see what resources are available to them and how to contact them. I feel like this would be very useful in any area that has people who suffer from drug abuse. This way they do not feel alone and can get the help they need. I mentioned to my contact at the OAA that this may be a good large project idea after things open back up. This could really help the community in Missoula that is struggling with drug abuse. 

Letter to the community

This week I wrote up a letter to the community reassuring them of that we are still there for them and what we are able to do that this point. The letter I wrote is a rough draft and it will be passed around the organization as to make edits as needed.

Dear Community,

With such uncertain times we want to reach out and assure you that we are doing everything in our power to serve you the best we can. With COVID-19 making everyday activities difficult or not possible, here at the Open Aids Alliance we have made changes so our services are still available to you. 

Our office is open every Tuesday and Thursday from 1-3 pm, 1500 Broadway Suite A. During these times supplies will be available to you. With that being said we are following social distancing guidelines, we have marked the floor to ensure that everyone is 6 feet apart, we also advise wearing a face mask if at all possible. Staff in the office will be wearing facemasks at all times along with sanitizing the various stations in between clients. If you cannot make the times we have available you can call or email us and request delivery of supplies. 

Along with running the Exchange to the best of our ability we are still running a Syringe Litter Hotline (406)493-2502. Feel free to call this number if you see any syringes around the Missoula area, we will send people out as soon as we can. We are also offering a support line through phone call and video platforms for those that are seeking support through these trying times. 

With the strict guidelines given out concerning COVID-19, testing for STDs is very difficult. We are working to find ways to make testing available during this crisis, if you have any questions concerning testing please give us a call or shoot us an email. We are here for you, we will keep looking forward and try to find new ways to make our services available to you. We will keep updating our website regularly, as to keep everyone up to date as to what is going on in the office. Most importantly stay safe, and healthy. We will get through this!!

Intranasal Naloxone Pamphlets

This week I made two pamphlets explaining how to administer Naloxone via the nose. I researched Narcan's form of delivery. Along with that I also researched a different brand of Naloxone using information that OAA provided to me. These pamphlets will hopefully educate the clientele of OAA.

 

The pamphlet above is for the Narcan brand.