Preventing an overdose

• Download the Lifeguard app – it’s quick, easy and can save your or someone else’s life. Available in Punjabi and French. When the language on your phone is switched to Punjabi or French, the app will automatically switch to Punjabi or French. Use your phone to scan the QR code and get the Lifeguard app.

• Download the Brave App – it anonymously connects you with an undisclosed community member if you use alone. Your identity stays secret, your data is not collected and you make your own game plan. Visit thebraveapp.com/ to learn more by watching the video and to download the app.
• Visit National Overdose Response Service (NORS), or call 1-888-688-NORS(6677).

• Tell someone before you use, leave the door unlocked and have someone check on you.
• When using with someone else, make a plan, don’t use at the same time, be sure your friend is willing to call for help and check-in on what each of you know about recognizing an overdose.

• Use less drug then before if: you are also taking certain prescription medications (they can impact the body’s ability to process the drugs) and/or you are using after a period of time of non-use (detox, abstinence, hospitalization, jail or new use).

• Do not mix drugs and alcohol. If you do, use the drugs first before the alcohol. Mixing opioids with downers or opioids with uppers puts you at higher risk of overdose; try to take one thing at a time.

• The street quality of substances is unpredictable, do testers, go slow, and try to use a consistent reliable dealer.
• Check your drugs confidentially for Fentanyl and other adulterants before using. Drug checking with fentanyl test strips step by step guide in English, Punjabi ਪੰਜਾਬੀ.

• If you have hepatitis or liver problems, breathing problems, lack of sleep, dehydration, or infections, they can put you at higher risk for overdose. Ensure to eat, drink water, sleep and see a doctor for infections or health concerns.

Naloxone is a medication that can reverse an overdose. Naloxone is available free to people who use drugs and can be purchased at pharmacies for non-drug users. Learn more about where you can get naloxone.

Learn more from the Overdose Survival Guide (available in English, French, Simplified Chinese and Punjabi).

To find a site closest to you, please visit the Toward the Heart site finder.

• Subscribe by texting JOIN to 253787.
• Text notifications will be sent to subscribers who want timely information about illicit substances and increases in toxic drug poisonings in their region. Learn more by visiting https://towardtheheart.com/alerts

• HealthLink BC: Be drug smart
  Be drug smart if you are taking or planning on taking drugs, or know someone who takes drugs.
• Toward the Heart: Training and resources 
  Overdose prevention and response educational materials on how to use naloxone.
• Á:ylexw tel Th’á:lá - Calling of the Heart
  
  A short film about the overdose crisis in Chilliwack