For those concerned about all the havoc that opioid abuse could cause for them and their loved ones, one local organization offers help through education.

Community & Family Resources provides classes that give kids the mental tools to make good decisions, including the decision to say no thanks to alcohol and drugs.

And it offers classes that teach people how to administer a life-saving dose of Narcan, the drug that can reverse an opioid overdose.

“Anybody we can get to these trainings, that’s beneficial,” said Mickie Shubin, prevention supervisor for the substance abuse and mental health organization that serves seven area counties.

The prevention training sessions offered by the group often called CFR are evidence based programs taught to people of all ages. They include drug overdose training and primary prevention strategies to address opioid use.

But the biggest and most popular community training program, according to Shubin, is the one that teaches citizens how to administer Narcan to save an overdose victim.

Narcan is a drug that counteracts the effects of opioids, essentially by replacing the opioids in the pain receptors of the brain. It is administered by spraying it into a person’s nose.

Shubin said those who complete the class receive a voucher that can be taken to Daniel Pharmacy, 1114 Central Ave., to get a free box of Narcan that contains two doses.

She said Narcan is “just a good, preventive, harm-reduction medication to have around.”

She said that in fiscal year 2023, CFR has trained 391 people, and the majority of them took the Narcan class.

For students, CFR has at least two programs tailored to helping them reject the lure of alcohol and drugs.

For sixth graders, there is the All Stars program. It aims to prevent underage drinking by helping young people make good decisions.

Seventh-graders at Fort Dodge Middle School and St. Edmond Catholic School complete CFR’s life skills program. Shubin said that is an “overall good decision making curriculum.” It consists of 15 lessons.

She said the class helps the students “know how to say no.”

To sign up for any of the substance abuse prevention classes offered by Community & Family Resources, contact Mickie Shubin, prevention supervisor, at 515-832-5432, ext. 1405 or mickies@cfrhelps.org.