Doctors Teach Tent City Community Leaders How To Administer Narcan

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Doctors and paramedics are hoping to teach community leaders how to respond to a growing health crisis in the Minneapolis tent city.

Minneapolis police say at least four people have died from heroin overdoses at the homeless camp off Hiawatha Avenue.

Today, emergency medicine workers with Hennepin Healthcare taught members of the homeless and American Indian communities how to safely administer Narcan during an overdose.

"We feel this part of the community is suffering and this is a way for us with our expertise to provide training to the community and perhaps allow them to be trained and use these skills to save a life," Dr. Thomas Wyatt, medical director at Hennepin Healthcare's emergency department, said.

More than a 150 people call the encampment home. The majority are Native American.

City officials are urging people at the homeless camp to use county shelters for a warm, safe, place to sleep. They can also get a variety of medical resources there.

The county says that's where donations should be sent. They say bringing food or supplies to the site can create a safety risk.