Care & Share Thrift Shoppes is responding to community needs by taking steps to help prevent drug overdoses and reduce stigma for individuals living with substance use disorder.

Care & Share partnered with St. Luke’s Penn Foundation and the Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission to install two Overdose Emergency Kits in its shoppes. On April 10, one kit was installed on the exterior of the building between the clothing shop and the two medical provider offices, and another kit was installed at the entrance of the Book Shoppe.

Each kit is temperature-controlled and located in a publicly accessible space. They contain 2-3 units (4-6 doses) of Narcan, CPR mask shields, other PPE, and drug and alcohol resources.

“We are pleased to make these Overdose Emergency Kits available to our community,” says Sarah Bergin, Executive Director of the Care & Share Thrift Shoppes. “By installing these kits within our Shoppes, we are increasing access to a tool that can help prevent deaths by drug overdoses.”

Ryan Schweiger, CPS, CRS, Community Outreach Specialist for St. Luke’s Penn Foundation recently provided an educational training on Narcan to the Care & Share staff. Each employee had the opportunity to receive their own package of Narcan and other resources such as Fentanyl drug testing strips. “An overdose can happen to anyone, said Schweiger. “It can happen to someone using drugs illicitly, and it can also happen to someone who is prescribed opioid pain medications for medical purposes. The individuals who experience overdose are our family members, our friends, our neighbors, our colleagues. Many factors play into the risk for overdose, and Care & Share is in a position in the community to care for the community. They are responding to this with positive energy knowing that if these efforts save even one life, then it was worth it.