Fentanyl, drug stigmas, ODs, where to get help with Alliance to Heal’s Laura Runchey

Laura Runchey with the Alliance to HEAL was in the WIZM studio Wednesday for La Crosse Talk PM to educate us a bit about drug stigmas, the problem with fentanyl, overdoses and where/how people can seek help.

La Crosse Talk PM airs weekdays at 5:06 p.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Find all the podcasts here or subscribe to La Crosse Talk PM wherever you get your podcasts.

Runchey is the Alliance to HEAL coordinator and a health educator with the La Crosse County Health Department. On the show we talked about fentanyl in a couple of different ways, including what it is, how it’s a problem for those who use drugs, and also some misconceptions we hear for those who might come into contact with it.

We also discussed overdoses, how they’ve been rising the past few years in La Crosse County and what to do if you encounter someone overdosing (after calling 911). Alliance to HEAL did demonstrate a few years ago how to use NARCAN, which can be found here.

For those who need help, Runchey talked about ways to do that in the community and the challenges groups that do help are having right now. To contact Alliance to HEAL, click here.

The Alliance to HEAL is also hosting a few events this month at Coulee Recovery Center in honor of International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31.

Those events include: 

Aug. 22: Coulee Recovery Center
— Bridging the Gap event: Treatment Service Resource fair
Aug. 30: Coulee Recovery Center
— Candlelight Vigil service
Aug. 31: Proclamation by Mayor Mitch Reynolds on International Overdose Awareness Day.