Thoughts on recent events

Friends,
I started this blog at the end of 2013 because so many people were curious about how we were going about organizing the first cluster for the Free Library of Philadelphia.  Three plus years later, all nine clusters are up and running successfully.  There are some elements of each of the other eight clusters that closely resemble those in North Philadelphia and some elements that are unique to those individual clusters.  That is how it should be.  That is why these smaller service areas were created.

Lately, there has been an incredible amount of curiosity about why and how we came to have librarians and other staff in the North Philadelphia Neighborhood Libraries Cluster that are trained in the use of Narcan (the opioid overdose reversal nasal spray).  I am going to try to address many of the questions I've had posed to me by Free Library staff, people from other libraries, the press, friends, and family. I apologize in advance if this gets long.

1. Why did we do it?  The East Kensington part of Philadelphia has been a mecca for drug dealers/users for decades cycling through whichever drug was popular at the time.  Longtime residents recall seeing fancy cars lined up for blocks in order to score cocaine for their next party.

Heroin use in the neighborhood had been growing exponentially over the last several years.  In the spring and summer of 2016, use in and around the library had become epidemic.  Library staff were sending emails to the police, city council, and library administration begging for help with little or no response.  It was becoming unsafe for the children of the neighborhood to walk through the park to get to the library. The Free Library took two very effective actions. They provided the library with a bathroom monitor who was hired and trained by Project Home, and we were allocated an extra part-time security guard who could patrol outside while our regular security kept an eye on the inside of the library.

Judi Moore, the branch head, had already instituted an organized over-dose drill, which they have had to put into use.

We began to educate ourselves with presentations from Prevention Point Philadelphia, and by doing our own research about the scope of the epidemic as well as the use and effects of Narcan. We determined two factors that would, in our minds, make it allowable for staff to be trained.  1. Narcan is available as a nasal spray. 2. You can do no harm with it.  Even if the person is not over-dosing, Narcan will not hurt them.

At the beginning of 2017, with prospect of another season of warm weather, and not much in the way of tangible progress being made by the city, we started looking at what we could do.  The library staff was strongly asking to be allowed to be trained, and to use Narcan.

2.  First steps. I checked with FLP's administration about getting permission.  Everyone agreed it was necessary, but wanted to have it cleared by the city's legal department, and they wanted a formal policy.  I felt we could not wait.  It would be more detrimental to the staff if someone died from an overdose in or near the library while we were waiting for permission to have the training.

At this point, I decided it was necessary to go ahead and take the risk by arranging the Narcan training with Prevention Point.  I announced it verbally at a cluster meeting.  It was completely voluntary.  I placed no requirements or restrictions on attendance.  The training began before the official start time of a work day. Twenty-eight staff members showed up from five different libraries.

3. Then this happened. Almost immediately afterwards, Chera, the Adult/Teen Librarian, at McPherson was called on to administer the Narcan to someone outside.  (We have had no incidents inside the library since the installation of the bathroom monitors.)  Again and again this happened.

Somehow the word got out, and we met Mike Newall from the Philadelphia Inquirer.  We thought he was coming to interview us about the 100th Anniversary celebration of the branch which was occurring the next week. Apparently, we were wrong.  His column appeared on May 21, and things began to happen.

It could be a happy coincidence, or because of the coverage, but the Mayor's Opioid Task Force finally moved from the talking to the action phase.  Police, cleanups, and supports were all put in place.  Mike's continued coverage has helped to shine a very bright light on the situation in Kensington.  Chera is a local hero, and has now been featured in many stories in print, and on TV. The requests for interviews are still coming in.

If you have any other questions, feel free to put them in the comments.

Thank you for reading this far.
Marion