AMHERST – A guest at the Craig’s Place homeless shelter who overdosed on what Amherst Fire Chief Walter “Tim” Nelson described as “very strong heroin” Wednesday night was successfully revived through use of Narcan.
Firefighter paramedics responded to the shelter, at the First Baptist Church, 434 North Pleasant St., at 11:24 p.m. for a man who was found in the bathroom and needed multiple does of Narcan to revive him, Nelson said.
“There is concern that there’s some very strong heroin out there,” Nelson said.
The man was transported by ambulance to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton for further treatment, Nelson said.
Even though the treatment was successful, paramedics at the scene were concerned that the same batch of heroin might have been used by other guests who had already gone to bed.
“The other concern medics had was did anyone else there take the heroin,” Nelson said. “We needed to make sure that no one else had shot up.”
It is not believed anyone else used the heroin. Nelson said heroin overdoses have been rare in Amherst.
Rebekah Wilder, executive director of Craig’s Doors, which operates the shelter, was there Wednesday night and observed shelter staff respond to the medical emergency. Tapestry Health has provided training for staff and shelter guests for the past few years and provided Narcan, she said.
“Having the Narcan easily accessible, and trained staff on site saved the life of this individual,” Wilder said, praising shelter staff members Jade Lovett and Darragh Heffernan for quickly handling the situation.
Craig’s Place is a behavior-based shelter in which people under the influence of drugs and alcohol are not turned away, unless the 22 beds already are occupied.
Wilder said Narcan has now been used there twice in the five seasons Craig’s Doors has run the shelter, and staff remains vigilant about the well-being of guests.
“Every night staff walk through the cots to check on guests breathing, as well as checking on anyone in the restroom for over five minutes,” Wilder said.
Nelson also praised the staff. “The staff was very good. They coordinated with our folks to make sure no one else shot up,” Nelson said.
Still, Nelson said the incident illustrates that using drugs in the bathroom or elsewhere in the shelter may be possible.
“We don’t know for sure he did it there, but he was found in the bathroom two hours after the doors opened,” Nelson said.
Police Chief Scott Livingstone has called for Craig’s Place to end its policy of allowing people who are under the influence of alcohol or other drugs to stay overnight, beginning next fall. Wilder, however, opposes that suggestion.
Wilder said guests are searched upon entry. While most guests adhere to shelter policies, some attempt to sneak in illegal items, such as drugs, alcohol and weapons.
She said she feels fortunate that the man’s overdose occurred at the shelter, observing that in the previous four nights he had arrived too late and the shelter was already at capacity.
“If he spent the night outside he would have been alone, and there would have been no one to administer the Narcan,” Wilder said. “Being in the shelter saved his life.”
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
