WESTPORT — A free training session in how to use Naloxone/Narcan will be offered to the community Aug. 31, in observance of International Overdose Awareness Day, at the Westport Library.

Register for the session, set to start at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31, at library by clicking here.

The event is organized by the town’s Positive Directions program. Lunch will be served at no cost to attendees, who also will receive a free Narcan kit.

Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is a drug administered to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

Margaret Watt, director of prevention services at Positive Directions, will facilitate the training as part of the Westport Prevention Coalition‘s “focus on educating individuals about the risks of opioids and counterfeit drugs and the potentially life-saving benefits of Naloxone,” according to publicity for the session.

“The opioid crisis has changed, with counterfeit drugs making their way into colleges and communities,” Watt said in the press statement.

“While overdose deaths continue to be relatively rare in Westport, the growing presence of fentanyl in the drug trade is increasing the frequency of overdoses requiring revivals,” she added.

Fentanyl can be laced into any substance and is increasingly compressed into pills masquerading as Xanax and other commonly prescribed drugs. College students from the Westport area have died from borrowing a tablet from a friend, thinking it was a sleep aid, program organizers said.

“The Westport Prevention Coalition provides a comprehensive approach to education and prevention services for Westport residents of all ages, through regular coalition meetings and programming,” First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker said in the statement.