The holidays can be difficult for those struggling with addiction.

Studies show drug use and overdose rates increase during the holidays.

In Jesmond County, public health officials are trying to get out in front of this trend by getting more Narcan doses into the community and more people trained on how to use it.

I overdose seven times before I made any kind of moves to achieve a lasting recovery and people don't have that anymore.

I was getting out when the fentanyl was coming in and for a long time I was able to hide the fact that I was using drugs.

So one will believe that.

No, my family's not doing it.

No, my kids aren't doing it.

But the only way to ever be completely sure and to be safe and protect yourself and your family is to have this miracle drug at your property.

Narcan is a lifesaving tool that anyone can carry, anyone can have.

But we give those out to anyone and everyone in the community that want to save a life from overdose.

We always try to increase the amount of Narcan that's distributed in the holidays just because people get to come home for the holidays.

You may have family members that are visiting you that you may not know their secret.

You may not know what's going on.

And the holidays are also really lonely for some people.

Which increases depression, which increases anxiety, which increases the likelihood of someone to use substances.

So we want to make sure everyone just has the tool to keep everybody safe.

And if someone does to try to try something and they do have an overdose.

Having that medication is not going to harm anybody.

But having that medication will save the life of a loved one when it's when it's needed.

One of the beautiful things about Narcan is that if somebody is having a heart attack and a lot of those symptoms or are going to display or can display as an overdose, if you give that person Narcan, it's not going to cause them any damage.

It specifically targets the opioid receptors in the brain and kicks that drug off and allows the body to start functioning again.

Every day we offer free Narcan training here at the Health Department.

If you come in, you'll come back to our booth and you'll say, I'm here for Narcan.

We're going to give you an organ and we're going to teach you how to use it.

It's very simple.

We, as of right now, we still have the nasal spray.

So it's very simple to use.

We teach people how to identify an overdose, what are the signs?

And then we provide them education.

So education is the biggest thing.

Educating the community on it can happen to anyone.

Not to create fear, but it can.

It can happen to anyone who goes to a grocery store.

It can have anyone that goes to a gas station.

It can happen anywhere and everywhere.

And a lot of people need to know how to identify that just the same way they would if someone was going into shock or if someone was having an allergic reaction.

And to have that in their kit, in their tool kit to help bring that person back to life is so important.

We keep trying to raise awareness.

We have several families in Jesmond County who have lost a loved one.

And the more we can shine a light on this, on this secret, on this thing that's happening, the more people we can get encouraged to come in and get and take the training.

The Jesmond County Health Department has seven Naloxone box locations around the county.

The list of locations is on the Jasmine County Health Department's website.