The Health Care Authority (HCA) is sharing a new resource intended to support individuals whose loved ones have survived an overdose.
The purpose of this guide is to "help the helpers." It includes supportive and educational materials for family, caregivers, or other loved ones in the aftermath of someone close to them experiencing and surviving an overdose.
Post-overdose toolkit for friends and family.
About the toolkit
After an overdose, communities are often left asking,
- What can I do to help my loved one?
- What can I do to care for myself?
This guide seeks to answer these questions, as well as:
- What is an overdose?
- Where do I find instructions on how to respond to an overdose?
- What do these terms mean: substance misuse, substance use disorder, and addiction?
- What care and support are helpful after an overdose?
- What are some of the treatment and support options available for my loved one?
- How do I balance caring for my loved one and myself?
Informed by the collective wisdom of those with lived experience and in partnership with Health Management Associates, HCA wrote this guide for a broad audience, with siblings, parents, friends, partners, caretakers, and other close relationships in mind. This guide draws on the real experiences of people who love someone who has survived an overdose and other types of experts, such as clinicians and health policy experts.
Stay tuned for the release of an accompanying one-pager and resource library later this year.