On Friday, Oct. 25th, the Villanova Office of Health Promotion and Counseling Center worked alongside senior neuroscience major Colin Nemeth to host Support Over Stigma, an event focused on encouraging conversations regarding substance abuse and working to get those in need connected with help and resources towards sobriety.
Throughout the event, students and campus participants were taught about the importance of Narcan, how to properly use it and about additional resources on Villanova’s campus and in the surrounding communities.
“We were sponsored by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, and they gave us 200 units of Narcan for free of charge,” said Nemeth. “We distributed them to anyone who came up to the table, trained them how to use it and things you need to know about it.”
The Villanova Counseling Center and Office of Health Promotion are working to encourage students to acknowledge that there is help for those in need on campus.
Sean Dinan, LSW, works in the Counseling Center and specifically works with students battling addiction and usage control issues. The center additionally offers a substance use and recovery small group for students who are interested.
“It is important to spread education about substance use,” junior Emma Thomas said. “The purpose of the event was to create more awareness on campus to give students the support they need. It also is used to develop allies so those in recovery feel supported.”
Villanova’s campus is not immune to the issues of drug usage and addiction, and neither are the surrounding communities. Whether students are attending a concert in the city, or getting together on campus, it is helpful to be trained on the signs of someone overdosing, and what to look for in others.
“I think most colleges should [speak more about substance addiction] but I do think Villanova is in a unique position,” Nemeth said. “I am not focused on just activity on campus. I am focused on how to educate the people and how this can reach outside the school.”
Nemeth also shared that the University holds extra Narcan that was not distributed during the event and that students who are interested in getting these are able to access them.
“We hope that beginning to remove the stigma against recovery helps people have a higher likelihood of a successful recovery,” Thomas said.
“I was very surprised and happy about the turnout for the event,” Nemeth said. “Also, the attitude about it. A lot of people would come up and share that they had heard of Narcan but wanted to learn more.”
Overall, the Villanova Counseling Center, Office of Health Promotion and Villanova students are working towards breaking the stigma regarding talking about substance use and abuse.
For more information regarding the resources on campus, visit the counseling center website: https://www1.villanova.edu/university/health-services/counseling-center.html
