Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided with Naloxone)/Bedbug Discussion
Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided with Naloxone) is a network of naloxone and fentanyl test strip distribution programs that provide opioid overdose education and harm reduction services coordinated by the Ohio Department of Health.
Project DAWN is named in memory of Leslie Dawn Cooper, who struggled with substance use disorder for many years before dying from a witnessed opioid overdose on October 3, 2009. The first Project DAWN site was established in Leslie's hometown of Portsmouth, Ohio in 2012. Since then, Project DAWN has expanded to a collective of more than 420 naloxone distribution sites that cover around 82 or Ohio's 88 counties.
Naloxone is a medication that can reverse an overdoes that is caused by an opioid drug (prescription pain medication or heroin). When administered, the naloxone blocks the effects of opioids on the brain and restores breathing within two to eight minutes. It is not a narcotic and is not addictive.