LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — It may be hard to imagine a 12-year-old girl drinking alcohol and then abusing meth.
“I started using when I was 12. Alcohol came first. And then quite quickly I found meth and acid and ecstasy,” said Jamie Hatfield.
Jamie Hatfield says she later got into opiates and heroin. And about a decade ago, while homeless in the Fresno, California area, she overdosed.
“I remember I went to get high. And I remember being shaken awake. CPR was being done on me. The guy said we just hit you with Narcan. We’ve got to get you to the hospital,” said Hatfield.
Narcan, also called Naloxone, can reverse an opioid overdose.
Hatfield says her experience eventually led her to getting clean and sober and she reconnected with her mother.
“I lost my kid because of my addiction. I’ve got him back. I got back in my family’s life. I robbed them for everything they had at one point, and they wanted nothing to do with me,” said Hatfield.
Hatfield is now a case manager for the nonprofit Shine A Light. The group is organizing a big Narcan giveaway, where 10,000 doses of Narcan are being given out for free. The kits also include 10,000 test strips, which can detect whether the potentially deadly drugs of Fentanyl and Xylazine are present in a pill.
Hatfield, who works with people going through drug court, says many people she’s talked to were kept alive with Narcan.
“A lot of my clients, most of the people in my office, most of the people in my recovery circle have all had Narcan used on them at one point in time, and are now living beautiful lives. It’s insane. If you talk to the people that are in the recovery community, hundreds, thousands have all said yes, I was dosed with Narcan, saved my life,” said Hatfield.
Hatfield says it’s important for people to know that Narcan is not just for homeless people who are addicted to drugs.
“Anybody that’s taking any kind of pill nowadays could overdose. And you never know,” said Hatfield.
That could be a high school student taking a pill at a party. Yale Medicine even suggests people who are prescribed opioid pain relievers should carry naloxone, which can include cancer patients or those who have other medical conditions that cause significant pain.
The Narcan giveaway is set for this coming Saturday. Fifteen teams will cover areas around Downtown, the Arts District, Allegiant Stadium, the Strip, Stewart and Maryland area and an LGBTQ area around The Center, located at Charleston and Maryland. Stationary teams will be located at Fremont and the Arts District.
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