Groton — Groton Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention is offering training sessions to the community to help save lives from opioid overdose and death by suicide.

The training sessions, which are free and open to the public, will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, at the Groton Town Hall Annex across from Fitch High School, and at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15, at the City of Groton Municipal Building.

“We know our community is looking for ways to help people," GASP Coordinator Carolyn Wilson said in a statement. "Our focus has always been on prevention, and this is just another kind of prevention. These trainings are an easy way for people to help a stranger, a family member or a friend.”

Naloxone, also commonly known under the brand name Narcan, is an opioid-overdose-reversal drug that can prevent death, GASP explained in the news release. Community groups and coalitions want to increase availability of naloxone because of the increased rate of overdoses seen in the region over the past several years due to the use of opioid pain medicine, heroin and fentanyl. All training participants will receive one box with two doses of naloxone nasal spray.

“Narcan is easy and safe to administer," Wilson said. "It only works if someone has opioids in their system.”

QPR — Question, Persuade, Refer — training is a method to help identify people who may be in need of treatment for suicidal ideation, the news release states. Participants will learn about the warning signs for suicide, risk factors and how to help someone in crisis. QPR is not a substitute for professional help.

“Anyone can benefit from learning about naloxone and suicide prevention," Wilson added. "These can seem like scary topics, but with the right training everyday people can learn more about what they can do to save lives. We hope trainings like this will help fight stigma about mental illness and substance use disorders, build compassion and encourage people to not just look the other way if someone is struggling. Most people don’t know about the Good Samaritan Law, but should.”

People who can't attend the training sessions can get a prescription for naloxone at a pharmacy or through a doctor using insurance. Additional training will be offered in September at a to-be-scheduled date. The training sessions are made possible by a State Opioid Response Grant from SERAC.

Light refreshments will be served during the sessions. To register, contact Wilson at (860) 446-3062 or cwilson@llhd.org.