‘Parent University’ focusing on Narcan training, drug use awareness set for Wednesday

Community organizations will present a “Parent University” event at Riverhead High School on Wednesday to teach families how to recognize and respond to drug use in their children, and provide training for when and how to administer the overdose rescue drug Narcan.

The event will include a “freeze action theater” where families will “learn how to break the ice and have conversations with children about the dangers of drug and alcohol use” according to the flier advertising the event on the school district’s website. The training, hosted by the Riverhead Community Awareness Program Youth Coalition, will include various scenarios given to families with a discussion surrounding each of them. Families will be provided with “effective talking points to discuss the consequences of drugs and alcohol use with their children.”

Community Action for Social Justice, a nonprofit organization based on Long Island, will provide Narcan and drug overdose response training. Families will receive a kit for emergency use, the flier states.

The New York National Guard Counterdrug Task force will deliver a presentation on community scans, which can be used to understand drug use trends, in Riverhead, the flier states. Families will have the opportunity to “address areas that they feel are of concern within our community.” The National Guard will input areas of concern on an interactive map and give them a chance to conduct community scans on the areas.

The event will also double as a medication take-back event for anybody who wants to safely dispose of unused, unwanted or expired medications. Families at the event will also receive a Deterra Drug Deactivation kit to use to dispose of medications within their households, the flier states.

The Poison Control Center will also have a table at the event to answer any questions related to drug and alcohol poisoning.

The Riverhead community has been on alert about potential drug overdoses after several incidents affecting school buildings in February. In the span of the month, two students at Riverhead High School were administered Narcan for suspected overdoses and one student consumed a THC chocolate candy edible, Riverhead Town Police said. Riverhead Police later said there was no evidence that opioids or fentanyl were involved in any of those incidents. Subsequently, three Riverhead Middle School students consumed THC candy, leading to the arrest of a 20-year old Riverhead man on charges of endangering the welfare of a child.

Shortly after the incidents at the high school, Riverhead school officials announced there would be an upcoming community event offering drug awareness and Narcan training.

The Parent University event will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday at Riverhead High School, 700 Harrison Avenue, Riverhead. Parents interested in attending can sign up through a Google Docs form on the district website.