Each year, Lutherans across the United States engage in acts of service on “God’s Work Our Hands” Sunday, always the second Sunday of September. Of course, most Lutherans engage in service on many other days of the year, too — but on God’s Work Our Hands Sunday, almost every ELCA congregation lends aid to their neighbors.
Here at Esperanza, we will be partnering with Sonoran Prevention Works (https://spwaz.org) to put together much-needed kits for SPW’s outreach programs. Since 2011, SPW has been working to improve the lives of people who use drugs through street-based outreach, organizational capacity building, and statewide advocacy work.
As you likely know, opioid overdose deaths have climbed dramatically in the last few years in the U.S. Opioids include fentanyl, heroin, oxycodone, and morphine, among others, meaning that some are legally prescribed, others illicit. Even though many people continue to die of overdoses, Arizona’s opioid overdose death rate leveled off in 2022. While it is not clear what accounts for this change, access to Naloxone seems to have stemmed the tide. Naloxone is the opioid overdose reversal drug, and SPW supplies it to individuals who use drugs, to people in their support systems, and to organizations who work with people who use drugs.
A staff member from SPW will join us on Sunday, Sept. 10, from 10:15 to 11:45 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall to share about the work and philosophy — called “harm reduction” — of SPW and to lead us in our efforts of kit-making. Hope to see you there!