BELCHERTOWN, MASS. (WWLP) – A farmers market booth offering information and Narcan in Belchertown was met with resistance by some online, 22News discovered it’s starting a conversation that could save lives.
“I was nervous for Sunday. I just saw the negative comments and that kind of stuck with me but the response was so amazing,” Alyssa Curran, the HEALing Communities Study Coordinator of the Western Massachusetts Training Consortium said.
Curran said when stigmas were revealed online a show of support came through. Normally when they give out Narcan at a park in Ware, they only hand out 6 boxes, but during the Sunday farmers’ market in Belchertown two weeks ago more was distributed.
“We gave out 20. We gave out so many that we ran out and Sergeant Lozier who was here ran back to the station because they had a supply of Narcan,” Abaigeal Duda, the Peer Recovery Project Coordinator of the Ware Regional Recovery Center said.
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The information booth offered people the chance to share their stories of addiction and recovery, whether it was them or a loved one. Duda said this is an issue that can be solved by having western Massachusetts people working together.
“It shows when people feel comfortable coming up and saying I would like to have this on hand that they will do it,” Duda said.