Downingtown Area High School has gained national attention for participating in Narcotics Overdose Prevention and Education, or NOPE, a new school drug education program, Reuters reports.

NOPE instructors teach students how to recognize symptoms of drug overdoses and emphasize the importance of quickly seeking medical attention for overdose victims. The programs also work to teach teens that prescription drugs are not safe to use other than under a doctor’s orders.

Reuters says NOPE is one of a handful of new programs responding to a national epidemic – as well as criticism.  Read the full story here.

Locally, Kennett Square-based Kacie’s Cause, founded in memory of Kacie Rumford, also runs school and community heroin awareness programs and parent support groups in Chester County. Read Fran Maye’s award-winning story about Kacie and the nonprofit group’s work to fight the heroin epidemic here.

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Top Photo Credit: Shannon Sees Fine