March 04, 2016
A Bucks County organization has started a crowdfunding campaign to put a lifesaving antidote into the hands of families and friends of heroin addicts.
Since January 2015, D.A.V.E. (Drug Addiction oVerdose Education Inc.) has distributed more than 460 doses of Naloxone during six training sessions around the county.
Its current GoFundMe campaign is trying to raise $3,520, the cost of providing Naloxone kits, with two $44 doses of the antidote, to 40 individuals for its next training session. About $1,100 has been raised over the past three weeks.
Families gather to learn how to rescue their addicted loved ones at a D.A.V.E. training session in May.
The organization was started by Cathy Messina of Warminster in memory of her son David, who lost his battle with heroin addiction in February 2014 at the age of 21.
More than 200 drug-related deaths were reported in Bucks County in the past year.
"The worst thing in the world is standing by and feeling helpless when a child (of any age) is lying there dying before your eyes," the group's GoFundMe page says. "It is something you can never get over. Please help so that we can save this agony from happening to another family."
"Addiction is chronic but very treatable," it continues. "D.A.V.E. is committed to helping to keep people alive until they can help themselves."
All donations to D.A.V.E. are tax-deductible.
