Nonprofit giving out naloxone kits at music festivals, offering training to prevent opioid overdose
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A nonprofit is training people on how to use opioid overdose prevention medication at music festivals throughout the country, including in the Bay Area.
End Overdose traveled to nearly 100 music festivals and concerts last year. This year, they're hoping to double the number.
The Los Angeles-based nonprofit trained more than 110,000 people on how to identify and respond to overdoses last year.
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Nearly 100 volunteers travel to the music fests to do the training.
Theo Krzywicki, the CEO of End Overdose, said they give out free internasal naloxone kits at the festivals, including Narcan and Kloxxado. Those who get them learn how to administer the naloxone.
Krzywicki said they gave out about 10,000 kits at EDC in three days.
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Concerts have been associated with accidental overdoses.
"I think anywhere where people meet is an excellent opportunity to provide access to training and life-saving medicine," Krzywicki said. "It's also a health crisis that we're dealing with right now. Opioid overdose is a leading cause of death to 18-to-45 year olds, and we should approach it with the same fervor that we did with training people on how to use CPR."
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Krzywicki, who lost his fiancé to an overdose, helped found End Overdose. He's been sober for 12 years and became a paramedic/firefighter.
End Overdose is also in more than a dozen colleges as clubs, including in the Bay Area.
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