Participants learned how to administer Narcan nasally rather than with a syringe. Schneberg showed them how to assemble the intranasal inhalers that send the antidote into a victim’s nose. Participants received Narcan kits to take with them. Schneberg said that trainees could call her office for replacement kits as needed.

“This isn’t a ‘get out of jail free card’ kind of thing,” she said. “This is not saying, ‘OK, I saved your life –– now go back to using drugs.’ This is just an opportunity to be able to save that person so that we can get them the help that they need.”

Lerner said that the Central District and the Community Parent Center are also assembling a heroin awareness committee comprising a dozen officials and local residents, including Bellmore Board of Education President Maryanne Kelly. “We’re really trying to put together a community-based group,” Lerner said. “We’re trying to figure out how to ensure the health of this community, and that requires a lot of help.” Among the ideas that the committee has discussed is the potential sponsorship of a prescription drug take-back program, he said.

Wendy Tepfer, the Community Parent Center’s executive director, said of the Narcan training, “A community forum like this gives parents the opportunity to get the education they need. If we saved one person’s life tonight, we did our job.”