On a day honoring one man’s service to the country, about 40 AmeriCorps volunteers gathered in Johnstown to serve their community, by fighting the opioid epidemic. 

 

“I think it’s held on Martin Luther King Jr. day because he has  been certainly the ambassador for change when it comes to civil liberties and volatile populations and disparities among populations. And certainly from a healthcare perspective, that’s a crucial thing,” said Dr. Charles Howsare, the Viral Hepatitis Coordinator for the State Dept. of Health.

 

After attending a drug prevention and treatment seminar at the Johnstown Free Medical Clinic, volunteers hit the streets to share information about opioid abuse and available resources, like clean syringe exchanges and treatment centers.  

 

“I just hope that they’ll learn that there are resources out there and there are people ready and willing to help them with whatever they may need help with,” said Jena Shaffer, an AmeriCorps volunteer.

 

One important thing the volunteers are teaching is “harm reduction”: the goal is to help drug users stay safe until they can get help.

 

Howsare said the epidemic doesn’t just involve opioid use, but also overdosing and the spread of infectious diseases through contaminated needles.

 

“The whole key is we’re trying to keep people alive and uninfected until they can reach services,” Howsare said.

 

Arin Wade is a senior at a college in Cresson. He has friends who have overdosed and now he wants to take action.

 

“Coming from Maryland, I’ve seen so many overdoses. We don’t have an environment like this where we have the community coming and helping so many others in the community for the overdose risk,” Wade said. “I feel as though if I was home or with a program like this back home, it would help so much more.”