I am all for this being a public service but why is this up to the library? I understand it is usually a convenient, local place that people can easily get to, but I don’t think most librarians are equipped to deal with someone who needs help in this kind of way. Much like guns shouldn’t be a “hazard of the job” for school teachers, I don’t think librarians should be responsible for this kind of public safety.
We should invest in community centers with resources for such things. Mental health professionals, trained social workers, public servants specifically trained to help those who might have stumbled along the way.
I think it’s just because American cities often don’t have community centers other than libraries. Libraries already host music concerts, society meetings, naturalization events, English classes, and other things unrelated to books; it’s not such a stretch to see them providing this sort of thing as a public service too.
I totally agree, but we don’t ask other public services to do that. Not do I think we should, but why not make it available at City Hall. If you as a community want to help these people, and have agreed to provide public services to a specific problem, why not lean into it. A single social worker in an office at City Hall could probably handle this better than people who preserve our public knowledge.
I understand the likely hesitation of people in need of something like narcan going to a place like city hall for fear of getting arrested, but if you’re providing public funds and services to help someone why would you arrest them for accessing this resource just because a law enforcement officer happened to see them on their way to get assistance?
Good points. I see what you mean about going the whole hog and helping people at a community center dedicated for just that, helping people.
My initial response was that a social worker’s skills are not necessary if the job is just to hand out anti-overdose medication, but then I realized that they could be useful for providing more help for these people, not just preventative drugs (which is great! but no one beat an addiction using more drugs).
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The myriad of free services provided by a library is why they hang out at libraries. Not that it doesn’t happen but I doubt the homeless are checking out books to fill their spare time.
Public bathroom, wifi, escape from the heat or cold, nice people, business resources, etc are all benefits of the public library. All that stuff can be done in a regular office building or community center and no need to burden the library with more work.
I agree with you in theory as well @wintermule_oregon@lemm.ee said, ideally this wouldn’t be the case but this is just better than nothing.
And we should not let perfect get in the way of someone getting possibly life saving resources.
Anyone can administer narcan nasal spray
I agree and understand, but sometimes people who are in need of this service might be less than stable. Again, is someone like a librarian the best public servant to help in this situation?
Presumably the best public servant is the one that’s closest and has narcan. We don’t have time to wait for the comptroller to get down there.
It doesn’t even seem like librarians will be administering them? They’re just giving them away
I like this, but watch out… it will be tin foil and straws soon.
Harm reduction saves lives.
This is true, but easier access to safety nets means less risk and more use. Especially in the open, directly outside the library and inside.
Double edged sword.
Got any proof it actually increases use and doesn’t just move the users to somewhere a little more visible?
Got proof it doesn’t? 🤷♂️
You made the claim, back it up or shut up
Do you expect people, including yourself, to show up with data to an online conversation? And, if I browse your history, would I find you citing all of the sources for you opinions?
Back the fuck up, please.
Do you expect people, including yourself, to show up with data to an online conversation?
If they’re going to make controversial claims, yes.
And, if I browse your history, would I find you citing all of the sources for you opinions?
You stated a claim of fact, not an opinion.
Do u want more overdoses or less overdoses
I seem to recall a similar argument being made against condoms being readily available. “Those harlots will bed any man they please if they don’t have to worry about getting pregnant or catching a disease! The horror!” Nevermind that condoms make the issue moot: getting pregnant or catching a disease is the only reason not to bed any man you please.
And what do you know? Now that sex does not equal babies, women can and routinely do exit toxic relationships instead of being trapped in them for life. “The horror” indeed.
This doesn’t really apply to the present situation, though, because using drugs still ruins your life, exactly as before, and it still kills you, just slightly slower.
Did they feel wearing a condom gave them the right to fuck at the library in full view of children?
I see what you’re saying, but I just think there is a better location for these things to be distributed. Like, a shelter, or a hospital, or damn near any Walgreens.
Did they feel wearing a condom gave them the right to fuck at the library in full view of children?
How is that relevant? Nobody proposed to make it legal for people to use drugs out in the open. Presumably they’ll still be arrested if they do.
I didn’t really understand how condoms were all that similar to narcan, but you went with it anyway.
Anyhow:
Visit Portland and you’ll understand. It’s legal to do drugs on the street. They distribute tin foil and straws. You can get narcan easily.
It’s a shit show.
If you don’t put words in my mouth, it’s just this: there’s a better place to distribute medical devices than a hospital.
You’re confusing cause with effect. Portland has a poverty problem, not a drug problem. Housing prices there are extreme. Wages there are nowhere close enough to afford housing there. This has displaced a buttload of people out of their homes and onto the street. These people have nothing left of their old lives, nowhere to go, and nothing to do but get high and detach themselves from their horrible reality as much as possible, especially now that it’s over 100°F outside. Better than slowly and horribly dying of hyperthermia in a prison cell while fully conscious and sober, like what’s happening in some other parts of the country.
Oregon has serious problems—catastrophic problems, even—but drug legalization isn’t one of them. It’s just a convenient scapegoat for people who don’t want to solve those problems.
