The Rochester Police Department is launching a new effort to reduce the number of opioid-related overdoses.
The “Leave Behind Naloxone” program announced Tuesday will equip police officers with kits containing the overdose-reversing drug and information on harm-reduction strategies and resources to seek assistance.
The kits will go directly to the people who need them most, according to Rochester Police Chief David Smith.
"High-risk individuals include not just overdose survivors, but people with a history of overdosing, high-risk users, and then also their friends, families, coworkers, or anyone else in a position to possibly use these life-saving supplies,” Smith said.
Monroe County Executive Adam Bello said the program will build upon current efforts to combat the problem, including the distribution of hundreds of naloxone boxes in the community and the work done by the county’s Improving Addiction Coordination Team, or IMPACT.
"Simply put," Bello said, "the Leave Bbehind Naloxone program is going to save lives."
Police said they will begin distributing the kits next month, starting in the Clinton section in northeast Rochester.
