The New Bedford nonprofit is taking an overdose prevention message to the White House

Support services for fishing partnerships sailors Debra Kelsey and Jenny Amaral are no strangers to the New Bedford waterfront, where they regularly interact with local fishermen to promote overdose prevention training provided by their nonprofit organization. But on Oct. 8, their efforts took them beyond the New Bedford waterfront — they stood proudly on the steps of the White House, representing their organization as part of a major initiative.

They joined over 250 organisations, businesses and stakeholders who pledged their commitment to The White House Challenge to Save Overdose Lives.

Released earlier this year, the Challenge is a nationwide call to action urging organizations across all sectors to expand training and improve access to opioid overdose rescue drugs such as naloxone or Narcan.

About the White House Challenge to Save Overdose Lives

Members of several organizations from across the country gathered in Washington DC to hear from each other about the various efforts they are committed to saving lives from overdose. The Fisheries Partnership of New Bedford was one such organization.

“It was really great to hear how people are reaching out to their communities and the ways that this work is done through churches or airlines and how it made so much sense,” she said.

A representative from the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA presented at the event, joining eight other organizations.

Kelsey said she could relate to the rep at Flight Attendants Association-CWA advocating to have Narcan in their emergency kits and for all their employees to be trained because an overdose can happen anywhere, including in the air and far out at sea.

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“I could relate because a public emergency could happen anywhere and they’re in the air and there’s no EMS to get to them,” she said. “This felt so right with us training commercial fishermen because obviously an emergency can happen anywhere.”

She said she could also relate to the painters and allied trades and labor union because, like fishermen, they experience high rates of pain at work. She said they’ve talked about starting peer-to-peer recovery groups, and some of their workers even wear stickers on their headphones that signal other workers can approach them informally to address the topic of overdose.

Kelsey also spoke with a drag queen who gives information before the night shows in San Francisco to train the staff at the events. They and everyone in the audience leave with Narcan, she said.

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While reaching out to other organizations, including the Los Angeles-based nonprofit End Overdose, she spoke with a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who was doing similar work in colleges.

“It was just amazing to feel all that love and energy and to hear the different organizations doing the same work,” she said. “It was really an amazing experience. It was so inspiring to hear from so many amazing organizations doing this work.”

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Recognized fishing partnership

The White House has received commitments to the Challenge from private and public entities, which include entertainment and hospitality, professional sports leagues, health care providers, trade associations, schools and universities, technology companies, transportation partners, and religious groups.

The White House described the Fisheries Partnership as a nonprofit organization that works to improve the lives and livelihoods of commercial fishermen and their families and employs community health workers to provide overdose training to fishermen and coastal community members from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

As a result of these programs, more than 2,000 people in the East Coast fishing community carry naloxone.

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Hearing from multiple speakers

The event featured many speakers, including Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Domestic Policy Council Director Neera Tanden, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Dr. Anthony Harris, Global Medical Officer at Amazon.

Many organizations talked about the different ways they bring Narcan into their businesses. Some included Amazon, Flight Attendants Association-CWA (AFA), Atlanta Public Schools, National Hockey League, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 35, North Carolina Council of Churches, Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Association, Commission of San Francisco Entertainment. in partnership with the San Francisco Department of Public Health and the Laborers International Union of North America.

Kelsey said Amazon, for example, plans to have Narcan in all of its facilities by early 2025. She also learned that Narcan is in more than 1,300 U.S. post offices and that number is expected to grow .

What is Fisheries Partnership Support Services in New Bedford

In general, Fisheries Partnership Support Services provide support to fishers to improve the health, safety and economic security of fishers and their families.

The Fisheries Partnership began in 1997 as a health plan for commercial fishermen, based on their income, because there was a need for commercial fishermen to be able to access affordable health care, given that they have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

When health care reform came to Massachusetts, the Fishing Partnership helped their families switch to the Health Connector.

Fishing Partnership navigators are now also certified Massachusetts Health Collector Navigators and are available to guide fishing families and community members seeking health insurance through the Health Connector and Mass Health and are committed to reducing the stigma associated with accessing health care services. mental health.

In 2023, Fisheries Partnership boaters assisted 1,291 Massachusetts fishing families and community members with maintaining health insurance, according to Support Services for Fisheries Partnerships Annual Report 2023.

From there they grew their safety classes, CPR classes and other training based on what commercial fishermen were talking to boaters and partnered with the local hospital to hold classes and arranged for flu shots, tetanus immunizations and other offerings on waterfront so they can then get back to work.

“Partnerships and collaboration have also been key in all of this,” Kelsey said. “It’s because of partnerships with other risk reduction organizations, with health departments and other recovery organizations, and the Coast Guard has been instrumental in bringing services to the waterfront because that’s where the fishermen are.”

Plus, as a Recovery Coach at Fishing Partnership, she can give them more information, connect them to resources, or just have a conversation.

Standard-Times staff writer Kathryn Gallerani can be reached at [email protected]. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.

This article originally appeared on the Standard-Times: Fishing Partnership joins the White House Challenge to save lives from overdose