Opioid and Heroin Education and Prevention Program

Presenter Training

www.overdose-lifeline.org

About the Program

This presenter training is designed to assist teachers, family, law enforcement and community members in the delivery of the Opioid and Heroin Education and Prevention Program Lesson.

PART 1

Overdose Lifeline, Inc. has developed this educational program to help inform students regarding the risks of opioids and heroin use and provide alternatives

to using drugs and alcohol in dealing with the issues, stresses, and pressures

facing today’s youth.

About Overdose Lifeline, Inc.Overdose Lifeline, Inc. is a non-profit working on behalf of addicts and their families to assure adequate resources and support exist. 

Justin Phillips created Overdose Lifeline after her son Aaron's tragic death by heroin overdose.   Pictured here are Justin Phillips and her children, left to right: Aaron, Audrey, and Bryan. 

www.overdose-lifeline.org

Educational Program Pilot Period

January – May 2015, Overdose Lifeline, Inc. partnered with IMPD to deliver the Opioid and Heroin Educational and Prevention program across 5 Indianapolis area high schools, reaching more than 1900 students.

• Collecting feedback from educators and students•Modifying the program based upon pilot experience

Education Program Objectives

• Drug use can lead to heroin use, addiction, overdose, and death• The risks of heroin and prescription pain drug use• The impacts of heroin, drugs and alcohol on the

user and the user’s family and friends• Alternatives to using heroin, drugs, and alcohol • The many ways to ask for help with drugs and

addiction• Available information and assistance resources

After completing the lesson, students will know and understand

Educational Program Package

The lesson plan and program materials are mapped to the program objectives and designed to provide the student with the opportunity to learn through a guided and practical exercise -- deepening their understanding and retention.

Program elements include

Lesson Plan, Presenter Support &

Background

Film Discussion and

Companion

PowerPoint

Post -Assessm

ent

Student Info

Card & Websit

e

Survey Data

Pre - Assessm

ent

Lesson Plan Outline & Timeframe

Film Post -Assessm

ent

Student Info

Card & Websit

e

Pre - Assessm

ent

2 minutes 12 minutes 4 minutes

2 minutes

1 minute25 minutes

Lesson plan activities are designed for a 45 minute timeframe

Discussion and

Companion

PowerPoint

Lesson Introducti

on

1 minute = 45 Minutes

Lesson Plan, Presenter Support & Background• The Lesson Plan provides an outline and presenter script to

follow from the lesson start (“Introduce the lesson”) through the lesson completion• Sample pre-recorded lesson to watch as you prepare• Presenter Edition of What Do You Know worksheet with

selection of associated presenter notes for each statement• Discussion Guide containing background and information

regarding addiction, prescription pain pills and heroin • Companion PowerPoint with presenter notes for use during

the discussion portion of the lesson

Pre- and Post-Lesson Assessment

What Do You Know WorksheetThe student worksheet ”Before the Lesson” activity captures the student’s established perception and opinion.

The “What Do You know” statements model the lesson objectives, using terminology from the film to help with the students retention and acquisition of the information.The student worksheet “After the Lesson" activity asks the student to re-assess the same statement after they have benefited from the film and the discussion.

The three survey questions provides Overdose Lifeline feedback to help improve the lesson for future groups.

Heroin Education Project Film

The lesson objectives are the blueprint of the film which finds students talking to students using real, everyday terms.

Discussion

The discussion portion of the lesson allows students to express their opinion/feelings about what they just watched and the presenter to guide the discussion.

Presenter support:• “What Do You Know” presenter edition with notes • Discussion Guide • Lesson companion PowerPoint with presenter notes

Student Information Card & Website

An information card and website containing the film, more information, and resources supports the student after the lesson.

Survey Data & Feedback

By mailing the completed “What Do You Know” student worksheets and the “After the Lesson” presenter survey to Overdose Lifeline, Inc. you will help Overdose Lifeline track and measure the effectiveness of the lesson plan and education materials and improve upon the program.

Mail Survey and Student Worksheets:Overdose Lifeline, Inc., 7331 Lakeside Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46278 , Attn: EDU Program

ONLINE edition of Survey and Student Worksheets coming soon.

Discussion Guide

• Helpful Notes for the Presenter• Heroin and Prescription Pain Medicine (Opioids) Facts• Impact on the Body/Brain - Addiction• Two Stages of Withdrawal• Impact on the Body/Brain – Overdose/Poisoning

PART 2

Helpful Notes for the Presenter

• Build a rapport with the students before you start the session.• Example: Tell a joke or personal story so the students don’t see the

presenter as a separate “expert”

• Establish common ground, but don’t fabricate a personal story.• While the film is playing, sit with the students – be a part of

their community.• Bring candy and hand out to encourage questions and

participation in the discussion.• Communicate that this is about saving lives – the information

that will be shared can help save their own lives and the lives of others – ask the student to share what they have learned with others.

Helpful Notes for the Presenter, continued• Be sure not to create a stigma surrounding addiction. Explain

that addiction is not due to a of lack of willpower. Nor is it a mental illness. Addiction is a chronic brain disease -- that can be compared to other chronic diseases like diabetes. Chronic diseases don't really go away but a person can recover with regular care and attention, maybe medicine, to avoid getting worse or dying.• A person does not choose to become an addict, the person's body

responds differently when exposed to alcohol and drugs.• Being addicted to alcohol or drugs does not make a person flawed or

wrong. They just need help and regular care and attention.

• Ask the students if they have been affected by drugs and addiction through family or friend, presenter raise their hand too – also creates common ground.

Helpful Notes for the Presenter, continued• Make sure to communicate that prescription pain medications are needed

and useful when properly taken and monitored by a doctor.• Use open ended questions and encourage participation whenever possible.

Example of closed-ended question“Did you feel sad for the people who shared their stories in the film?”

Example of open-ended question“What are some words that come to mind when you think about the people who shared their stories in the film?”

• When presenting within a school environment ask the school in advance if they want to refer students with additional questions to the school counselor, nurse, health teacher, etc.

• Consider inviting a “speaker” from the recovery community to share their story and experience .

Heroin & Prescription Pain Pill (Opioids) Facts• Heroin and Prescription Pain Pills are the same thing, both fall within the

Opioids class of drugs.• Opioids are highly addictive, dangerous and leading cause of death in U.S.• Overdose can occur on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. use – one cannot control when

an overdose will occur.• According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), about 23% of

heroin users develop chronic opioid addiction disease.• In 2013, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) estimated

that 1.9 million Americans live with opioid pain reliever addiction and 517,000 are addicted to heroin.

• While Heroin poisoning continue to rise each year by approx. 20%, prescription pain pill poisonings rise by 90%.

• About 75% of opioid addiction users switch to heroin as a cheaper opioid source.

Heroin & Prescription Pain Pill (Opioids) Facts• Pharmacy robberies across the U.S. are on the rise.• In the News (MAY 2015): Scott County Indiana is experiencing an

outbreak of HIV and Hepatitis C due to the sharing of needles during the use of opioids. Similar news stories are emerging across the U.S.• When one chooses to take an opioid drug, their choice to continue to

use or stop is taken away from them as the chemistry of the drug takes over ones body, central nervous system and brain mechanism,• Opioids are highly addictive, when no longer available, severe

withdrawal occurs,• Initial Opioid withdrawal lasts for 7 days to 2 months, Post-Acute-

Withdrawal (PAW) continues for approximately 2 years with risk of relapse high during PAW episodes.

Impact on the Body/Brain - Addiction• Prescription opioid pain medications and heroin bind to molecules on

cells known as opioid receptors. These receptors are found on nerve cells in many areas of the brain and body, especially in brain areas involved in the perception of pain and pleasure.• Medications that affect the brain can change the way it works—

especially when they are taken over an extended period of time or with escalating doses. • They can change the reward system, making it harder for a person to

feel good without the drug and possibly leading to intense cravings, which make it hard to stop using. • When a person is addicted to a drug, finding and using that drug can

begin to feel like the most important thing—more important than family, friends, school, sports, or health.• The effect of opioids on the developing brain of a teenager compounds

the addiction outcomes – making it all the more risky for teenagers.

The Two Stages of Withdrawal

• Opiate withdrawal symptoms can last anywhere from one week to one month. Especially the emotional symptoms such as low energy, anxiety and insomnia can last for a few months after stopping high doses of opiates.

• The second stage of withdrawal is called the Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS). During this stage you'll have fewer physical symptoms, but more emotional and psychological withdrawal symptoms.

• Post-acute withdrawal occurs because your brain chemistry is gradually returning to normal. As your brain improves the levels of your brain chemicals fluctuate as they approach the new equilibrium causing post-acute withdrawal symptoms.

• Post-acute withdrawal feels like a rollercoaster of symptoms. In the beginning, your symptoms will change minute to minute and hour to hour. Later as you recover further they will disappear for a few weeks or months only to return again. As you continue to recover the good stretches will get longer and longer. But the bad periods of post-acute withdrawal can be just as intense and last just as long.

• Each post-acute withdrawal episode usually last for a few days. There is no obvious trigger for most episodes. You will wake up one day feeling irritable and have low energy. If you hang on for just a few days, it will lift just as quickly as it started. After a while you'll develop confidence that you can get through post-acute withdrawal, because you'll know that each episode is time limited.

• Post-acute withdrawal usually lasts for 2 years. This is one of the most important things you need to remember, prepare for and guard against potential relapse.

Impact on the Body/Brain - OverdoseHeroin and opioids tell your body to stop breathing and can also cause your blood pressure to dip significantly and cause your heart to fail.

Signs of depressant drug overdose (e.g. heroin, morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl, methadone) include:

• shallow breathing or not breathing at all

• snoring or gurgling sounds (this can mean that a person’s airway is partly blocked)

• blue lips or fingertips

• If you pick up their arm or leg, it will just fall and flop

• no response to stimulus

• disorientation

• unarousable (can’t be woken up) unconsciousness.

Companion PowerPoint with Presenter Notes

For Delivering the Program Lesson within a Classroom, Forum, or Community Event

www.overdose-lifeline.org PART 3

Opioid and Heroin Education and Prevention

Lesson

What Do You Know?Do Not Write Your

Name on the Worksheet

A message from Justin Phillips, founder of Overdose Lifeline Inc.

Heroin Education Project Film

Prescription Pain Pills

•Hydros•Oxycotton• Percs• Vikes

NOT the same as Heroin?NOT as risky?

Does Heroin hook people faster than other drugs?

Do Heroin and other drugs change a person?

What do these people all have in common?

Does overdose happen only with heavy drug use?

Will I ever try anything as risky as Heroin?

Can people just like me become addicted?

Are drugs and alcohol the best choice for escape?

Most Important Message

•Heroin and prescription pills are rarely the starting point - First is marijuana, alcoholic and other drugs or drugs prescribed by their doctor• Prescription Pain Pills = Heroin•When you use opioids and heroin, you lose your ability to choose• You can become addicted and you can overdose with just 1 use, with the 2nd, the 3rd , etc.

Need Help?If you or someone you know needs help, PLEASE know there is someone who will listen and help you.

If you or a friend are in crisis and need to speak with someone now, please call:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (they don't just talk about suicide—they cover a lot of issues and will help put you in touch with someone close by)

• Community Hospital Indianapolis 24-hour crisis services: call 317-621-5700 or toll-free at 800-662-3445

• Dial 2-1-1 Helpline

If you need information on treatment and where you can find it, you can call:

• Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator at 1-800-662-HELP or visit www.findtreatment.samhsa.gov

• Eskenazi Health Midtown 317-880-8491

• Your favorite teacher, your coach, your neighbor, your school nurse, your school counselor, etc.

• Visit www.overdose-lifeline.org for more information and list of resources

What Do You Know?

Please share what you have learned today – inform others about the risks – Save a life.