The Hamilton County Coalition in conjunction with the TN Save A Life Program, are targeting rural communities with a new wave of free, monthly opioid overdose reversal trainings.
The eight monthly trainings will begin on Monday and spread across six different counties in-and-around the Chattanooga-area. Hamilton County’s Regional Overdose Prevention Specialist Vanessa Spotts says this strategy is based on requests to supply knowledge and tools that can be difficult to find in rural communities.
“The lack of connection to resources for the rural communities outside Hamilton County has been a key problem for as long as the opioid epidemic has been present,” Ms. Spotts said. “Because of that, we’ve shifted our focus to providing a majority of trainings outside of Hamilton County. We believe the best way to begin seeing a positive difference is providing a consistent space for rural communities to learn and receive resources about preventing an overdose.”
The eight locations for the trainings cover Hamilton, Marion, Rhea, Sequatchie, Grundy and McMinn counties. A full list of the locations, dates and times are listed below:
SperoHealth (7030 Lee. Hwy — Chattanooga) starts Dec. 2 at 6 p.m.; continues first Monday of every month
Sequatchie Fire Department (184 Handle St. — Sequatchie) starts Dec. 10 at 6 p.m.; continues second Tuesday of every month
Spring City Hall (229 Front St. — Spring City) starts Dec. 12 at 6 p.m.; continues second Thursday of every month
City Church of Dayton (375 Main St. — Dayton) starts Dec. 16 at 6 p.m.; continues third Monday of every month
Hamilton County Coalition (5721 Marlin Rd. Building 6100 — Chattanooga) starts Dec. 17 at 6 p.m.; continues third Tuesday of every month
McMinn County Emergency Operations Center (1107 Congress Pkwy. — Athens) starts Dec. 18 at 6 p.m.; continues third Wednesday of every month
Grace at Harbolt Education Center (67 Old Hwy. 56 — Coalmont) starts Dec. 18 at noon; continues third Wednesday of every month
SETHRA (312 Resource Road — Dunlap) starts Dec. 18 at 6 p.m.; continues third Wednesday of every month
Anyone interested in attending a training is encouraged to register online at hccoalition.org. For more information, call the Hamilton County Coalition at 305-1449.