Naloxone training aims to shift stigma to compassion in Woodbury, Sept. 22

When someone faces substance use disorder, society's knee-jerk reaction doesn’t sit well with everyone.

“We throw them in a jail, which is the last place they’re going to get any help,” said Rev. Ed Treat, founder of The Center of Addiction & Faith. “These are hurting people, and they’re taking drugs, because if nothing else, it fixes the hurt.”

Treat, who has been in his own personal recovery for more than 40 years, knows firsthand how isolation and punishment fail to address the root of the addiction and opioid crisis. To help shift the community's response from criminalization to life-saving action, The Center of Addiction & Faith, in partnership with Washington County’s Opioid Settlement Fund, will host a free public naloxone training session on Tuesday, Sept. 22.

The event, running from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church (7305 Afton Road in Woodbury), will equip local faith communities and residents to recognize an opioid overdose, properly administer naloxone, and intervene effectively until emergency medical services arrive.

Treat spent the first third of his life struggling with active addiction before becoming an ordained pastor. In 1990, he connected with other clergy members in recovery to form a supportive fellowship at a time when leaders struggling with addiction were routinely cast aside. That ministry eventually grew into The Center of Addiction & Faith, an organization dedicated to transforming churches into places of welcome, grace, and healing.

Treat recalled attending church services while actively using drugs, searching for hope but routinely leaving disappointed and feeling like an outsider in spaces where addiction was considered taboo.

“I just thought, if Jesus were alive today, I wondered if he wouldn’t more likely be in a 12-step meeting than in the church because I see more miracles happening there than anywhere,” Treat said.

Recruiting more helpers is the motivation behind the upcoming Woodbury session. Every attendee will receive a free naloxone kit.

“It’s so simple,” Treat added. “There are two ways to administer: one is an injection into an arm or fatty part of the body, or there is the nasal spray; you can just hold it up to someone’s nose and spray it in. It saves lives.”

The training aims to turn local houses of worship into active lines of defense against fatal overdoses. Nationally, opioid overdose deaths previously topped 100,000 annually, but widespread community distribution of naloxone has helped reduce those numbers by nearly 25% according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"It’s having a big effect," Treat said.

Treat emphasized that no special medical training is necessary to step in during a life-threatening crisis, noting that naloxone carries no health risks and will not harm anyone if administered during a non-overdose emergency.

"If you don’t know what’s going on, naloxone won’t hurt you," Treat said. "I just tell people use it because if it’s not an overdose, it’s not going to harm anyone. So, I always say, just do it and hopefully save a life."

During the session, Treat will address how hidden addiction can be in local communities and why churches are uniquely positioned to intervene, even if they don't realize it.

While congregations may not see active addiction in the pews every Sunday morning, Treat pointed out that churches regularly host funerals, weddings, and baptisms—events that draw broader public crowds.

"I always felt like faith communities should have this on hand because they may not have active addicts coming regularly, but they have funerals, weddings, baptisms where people who don’t normally come to church come and who knows what they’re into," Treat said. "There could be an overdose in that case, or it could be a member of the church."

The Woodbury naloxone training session is part of a broader pilot program funded by Washington County’s Opioid Settlement Fund to provide local faith organizations with training, educational resources, and ministry support teams. Treat’s goal is to reach every congregation in Washington County to ensure communities are prepared to step in and save lives when seconds count.

Registration and complete event details are available online at www.mcrproject.net