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When you walk into your neighborhood public library,
当你走进你附近的公共图书馆时，
you expect the librarian to help you find your next favorite book or some accurate information on a topic at interest.
会期待图书馆员帮你找到下一本你喜欢的书，或关于某个主题的准确信息。
You don't probably expect the librarian to come running out from behind the reference desk with Narcan,
你大概不指望图书馆员拿着纳洛酮从参考咨询服务台后面跑出来，
ready to revive someone overdosing on heroin or fentanyl. But this is happening at some libraries.
准备救醒过量使用海洛因或吩坦尼的人。但这正发生在一些图书馆里。
Public libraries have always been about community support with all kinds of services
一直以来，公共图书馆以支持小区为目标，提供各种服务和方案：
and programs from assisting with job seeking efforts to locating resources for voter rights to providing free meals to kids and teens even.
帮助找工作、找选民权利的资源，甚至提供儿童和青少年免费的餐点。
But what we think of as community support takes on new urgency when you're in the middle of an opioid and overdose crisis.
但处于类鸦片和过量危机之间，带来了新的小区支持急迫感。
I work at the McPherson Square Library of the Free Library of Philadelphia.
我任职于费城免费的麦克弗森广场图书馆。
It's located in Kensington, one of the lowest income communities in Philadelphia,
它位于费城最低收入小区之一的肯辛顿，
with a long history of being isolated from resources and opportunity.
与资源和机会隔绝的历史悠久。
And because of that, it has been the center to the city's drug trade and drug use for decades.
因此，数十年来，它一直是该市毒品贸易和毒品使用的中心。
And so inside the neighborhood, our library is nestled inside of a park,
位置在小区里，我们的图书馆坐落在一个公园内，
which has unfortunately garnered a reputation for being a place to find and use drugs,
不幸的是公园已广为人知是寻找和使用毒品，
especially heroin, out in the open, putting us and the community in direct contact with the drug trade and use on a daily basis.
特别是海洛因的公开场合，使我们和小区天天直接接触到毒品的交易和使用。
And so inside the library, it is routine to see people visibly intoxicated on opioids: eyes closing, body swaying slowly.
所以在图书馆里常看到明显恍神的类鸦片药物吸毒者，他们眼睛闭着，身体缓慢摇摆。
It is routine for me to ask them if they are OK,
问他们是否还好成了我的例行公事；
but at the same time remind them if they can't keep their eyes open, they have to go.
同时还得提醒他们，如果他们睁不开眼睛就必须离开。
It is routine for our volunteer, Teddy, to pick up dozens of discarded needles on our property and throughout the park.
我们的志愿者泰迪在我们图书馆范围和整个公园里，收集数十个丢弃的针头也是例行公事。
And it is normal for kids to come into the library to tell me or our guard, Sterling,
常有孩子们进入图书馆告诉我或我们的守卫斯特林，
that someone is outside using, which typically means finding someone injecting on our front steps,
有人在外面使用，通常意思是：看到有人在我们前面的台阶上、
benches or near the building, then asking them to move along because kids see them.
长凳上或图书馆附近注射毒品。我们得要求他们离开，因为孩子看到他们用毒品了。
And it is normal for the community to see people in various states of intoxication and withdrawal,
小区常看得到处于各式恍神和退缩状态的人们，
to see people buying and selling, and to see people act and react violently.
看到人们购买和出售毒品，以及看到人们的暴力行为和反应。
I'm not sharing this to sensationalize Kensington.
我说这事不是要让肯辛顿骇人听闻。
I'm sharing this because this is the reality of a community that is constantly striving to move forward,
而是因为这是不断努力前进的小区的现实；
but due to factors like structural racism, urban segregation, the cyclical nature of poverty, of trauma
但是由于诸如结构性种族主义、城市隔离、周期性的贫困和创伤等因素，
the community has inequitable access to education, health care, employment and more.
导致小区的机会不平等，诸如受教育、医疗保健、就业和其他的不平等。
And this is also what it's like when the drug trade and use affects every aspect of life in the neighborhood.
当毒品的交易和使用影响到邻里生活的每个方面时，就会是这样。
And the opioid epidemic has only amplified that stress.
而鸦片类疫情只会放大这种压力。
When I was hired by the Free Library in 2013, I specifically chose to work at McPherson
在2013年免费图书馆雇用我时，我特别选择在麦克弗森任职，
because I understand what it's like to grow up in an environment where substance use disorder shapes the everyday,
因为我了解在这样的环境里长大，日常使用毒品所造成的紊乱感觉，
and I wanted to use those personal experiences as a guide for my work.
我想以个人的经历作为工作的指导。
But before I get to that, I want to share what it was like to witness this epidemic grow in Kensington.
但在谈那之前，我想分享在肯辛顿见证这种流行病的增长是什么样子。
Like many other communities, we were just not prepared.
像许多其他小区一样，我们就是还没准备好。
We began to take notice of IDs we were seeing: addresses from nearby and upstate counties and then slowly out-of-state ones.
我们开始注意到这样的景况：先是州北部的附近几个郡，然后慢慢地有外州的。
People from Arkansas, Ohio, South Carolina, Alabama coming to Philadelphia for cheap heroin.
来自阿肯色州、俄亥俄州、南卡罗来纳州、亚拉巴马州的人来费城购买便宜的海洛因。
People began to linger longer and longer in our public restroom,
人们开始在我们的公厕里逗留的时间越来越长，
causing us to pay more attention to the restroom than to our daily responsibilities
导致我们得更关注洗手间，而不是我们的日常工作责任，
because it was an accessible place to use drugs just purchased.
因为厕所是使用刚买的毒品的便利场所。
One day our toilet clogged so badly in the restroom,
有一天我们的厕所马桶被严重堵塞，
we were forced to close our library for two days because the culprit of the clog was discarded needles.
使得图书馆被迫关闭了两天，因为堵塞的罪魁祸首是废弃的针头。
For a while prior to that incident, we had been asking for a sharps container for the restroom,
在事件发生前一段时间，我们一直在寻求在厕所里装个放尖物的容器；
and after that, the library administration quickly approved installing one along with hiring bathroom monitors.
在那之后，图书馆的管理部门迅速批准装了一个厕所的监视器。
And as the weather warmed, we struggled to respond.
随着天气变暖，我们努力做出回应。
People began camping out in the park for days, weeks.
人们开始在公园里露宿几天、几周。
You could walk outside on a sunny, warm day
在阳光明媚、温暖的一天外出散步，
to find multiple groups of people in various states of intoxication and children playing in between them.
会看到各式各样恍神的人们，以及在他们之间穿梭玩耍的孩子。
The amount of needles collected by Teddy on a monthly basis skyrocketed from 100 to 300 to 500 to 800, to over 1,000,
泰迪每个月收集的针头数急遽增加，从100增加到300，到500，到800，到超过1000，
with many found on our front steps and the playground.
发现许多针头弃置在我们前面的台阶和操场上。
Then there were the overdoses. So many occurred outside in the park, some inside the library.
还有吸食过量。很多发生在图书馆外的公园，有些发生在图书馆内。
Sterling, our guard, would spend his time walking in and out of the building and throughout the park,
我们的守卫斯特林会花时间进出大楼和整个公园，
constantly making sure everyone was safe, because at times, our fear of having someone overdose and die came close.
不间断地确保每个人都安然无恙，因为有时候我们所害怕的有人会吸毒过量致死差一点发生了。
One overdose in particular occurred after school, so the library was full of kids, noise and commotion.
有一次，过量事件发生在放学后，当时图书馆里满是孩子、噪音和骚动。
And in all of that, we heard the thud from inside the public restroom.
就在这一切声音当中，我们听到了公共洗手间内有人倒地的声音。
When we opened the door, we found a man on the floor, unresponsive.
我们打开门时，发现地板上有个人昏迷不醒。
He was pulled out in plain sight of everyone -- kids, teens, adults, families.
每个人都看得到他被拉出来--孩子、青少年、成人和家庭。
Someone on staff called 911, someone else escorted the kids and teens downstairs,
有个图书馆员打电话给911，另一个陪着孩子和青少年们下楼，
somebody went to flag down the ambulance in the park. And the rest of us -- we just waited.
还有一个去公园指挥救护车。而我们其他人只是等着。
This had become our overdose drill because at the time, it was all we could do.
这已成为我们的过量演习，因为当时我们只能如此。
So we waited and we watched this man lose air -- seize up. He was dying.
我们等着、看着这个人吸不到气、痉挛，他快死了。
I don't know how many of you have witnessed an overdose on opioids,
我不知道你们之中有多少人目睹过鸦片类药物的过量使用，
but it's horrific because you know the gasping for air, the loss of color in someone's face,
真得很可怕，因为正如你所知，挣扎着要吸到气、脸色变苍白，
is a timer running down on the chances of this person surviving.
是这个人生命流逝的倒数计时。
But luckily for this man, the ambulance arrived and he received a dose of naloxone through injection.
但这个人很幸运，救护车到了，给他注射一剂纳洛酮。
And I remember he jolted like he was electrocuted, and he pulled the needle out, and he told the paramedics to back off.
我记得他像被触电一样震起，他拔出针头，告诉医务人员退后。
And then he stood up, and he walked out.
然后站起来，走了出去。
And we -- we went back to work because people were still asking for time on the computers,
而我们--我们继续工作，因为人们仍要求使用计算机，
kids still needed help with their homework and this was our job -- our purpose.
孩子们仍需协助完成作业，这是我们的工作、我们的用途。
I think that incident stays with me because of the waiting. It made me feel helpless.
我认为是因为等待而使我忘不了这件事。等待让我感到无助。
And it was that feeling of helplessness that reminded me so well of my childhood.
那种无助感让我忆起童年。
Before I was born, both of my parents began using heroin.
我出生前父母开始吸食海洛因。
It made our lives chaotic and unstable: promises being made and constantly broken, their fighting, the weight of their secret
这使得我们的生活变得混乱不稳：许下的诺言不断地被打破，他们的争执和秘密的分量，
the weight of our secret kept so much so-called "normal" out of our lives.
我们秘密的分量把我们大多的生活排除在所谓“正常”之外。
Every time we'd be dropped off at our grandparent's house,
每当我们被丢在祖父母家时，
I'd be stuck on the thought that I was never going to see them again.
认为我再也见不照他们的想法挥之不去。
Every time we'd be left in a car, at a house, at a store, I'd cry.
每当我们被留在车里、在房子里、在商店里，我都会哭泣。
And every time I saw those El tracks -- the same ones I take to work now to McPherson
每当我看到那些高架列车--我去麦克弗森工作日常搭乘的那些列车，
from the backseat of a car, I'd be angry, because even kids know when their parents are trying to score drugs.
在车的后座，我都会生气，因为即使孩子们也看得出他们的父母正打算要吸毒。
There was so little I could do to control what was going on around me, that that feeling of helplessness was overwhelming.
我几近无法控制周围发生的事情，那种无助感压垮了我。
I struggled in school, struggled to read, I was prone to anger and depression.
我挣扎于学业、读书之中，我很容易生气和沮丧。
When I was 11 years old, I started smoking, which shortly after led to my own experiences with drugs and alcohol.
我11岁时开始吸烟，不久后导致我自己吸毒和酗酒。
I convinced myself that my parents' past would be my future.
那时我相信父母的过去将会是我的未来。
But eventually both of my parents entered recovery and maintained recovery from opioid use.
但最终我的双亲戒毒了，并且一直维持着不再用鸦片类药物。
And their strength and their commitment provided support and stability for me and my siblings,
他们的力量和承诺，为我和兄弟姐妹提供了支持和稳定，
and it was those personal experiences that brought me to McPherson.
正是那些个人的经历将我带到麦克弗森。
Choosing to be a librarian and choosing to be at McPherson was me letting go of that feeling of helplessness
选择成为图书管理员，并且选择在麦克弗森工作，让我摒弃了那种无助的感觉，
and finding ways to be supportive to others.
并且设法帮助别人。
And one way to provide support was learning how to administer Narcan.
一种提供帮助的方法是学习如何施用纳洛酮。
Public libraries respond to the needs of their communities,
公共图书馆响应小区的需求，
and not knowing how to utilize Narcan was a disservice to the needs of our community.
而不知道如何利用纳洛酮有损我们小区的需求。
We were on the frontlines and desperately needed access to this lifesaving tool.
我们站在前线，急需获得这种救生的工具。
So finally in late February of 2017, after much advocating,
终于在2017年2月下旬，经过多次倡导之后，
we finally received training from Prevention Point Philadelphia and about a month of so later,
我们终于接受费城预防点的培训，
I utilized Narcan for the first time to save someone's life.
大约一个月后，我首次用纳洛酮拯救别人的性命。
It was after school again, and Teddy came into the library and said someone was overdosing on a front bench.
那又是放学后，泰迪走进图书馆，说前头的长椅上有人吸毒过量。
Someone on staff called 911 again, and I grabbed the Narcan kit.
有个馆员再次打电话给911，我一把拿起纳洛酮工具箱。
The woman was barely in her 20s and barely breathing.
那女人刚20岁出头，几乎没呼吸。
Her friend was frantically slapping her in the face in hopes of reviving her.
她的朋友疯狂地拍打她的脸颊，希望拍醒她。
I administered the Narcan nasally, and thankfully she came to.
我通过她的鼻腔注入纳洛酮，幸好她醒了过来。
But before the ambulance arrived, she and her friend ran off.
但在救护车到达之前，她和她的朋友跑走了。
And when I finally turned around, I saw the kids
当我终于转身时，看到了那些孩子
kids that come into the library on a daily basis, some that I have known for years
那些每天进图书馆的孩子，有些我已经认识多年了，
standing on the steps of the building. They saw everything.
站在大楼的台阶上。他们看到了一切。
And they didn't seem like they were visibly upset or in shock,
他们看起来并未明显的不安或受到惊吓，
and so I walked into the building, right into our workroom, and I cried.
于是我返回大楼，进入我们的工作室，哭了起来。
I cried partly from the shock of what just happened because I never thought I'd be saving anybody's life ever,
我哭的部分原因是刚刚发生的事情，因为我未曾想过会拯救任何人的性命；
but I mostly cried because of the kids. This is their normal. This is the community's normal.
但我更为孩子而哭，这是他们的日常所见，是小区的常态。
This is a catastrophic normal, and in that moment, I was forced to confront once again that this should never be normal,
这是个灾难性的正常情况，在那一刻，我被迫再次面对这种永远不该是日常的情况，
and as with my childhood, when you're in it, you just accept it.
就像我的童年一样，当你身处其中，就只能接受它。
The opioid epidemic is not just about those living with opioid use disorder
鸦片类物质的流行不仅是因为有鸦片类药物使用障碍的患者，
because the reach of the epidemic goes well beyond those living with this and their families.
因为这种流行的范围远超出和这些患者及其家属一起生活的范围。
It impacts the entire community.
它影响到整个小区。
Kensington was a community in crisis before this for reasons that are endemic and intertwined,
在这之前，因为地方性和交织性的原因，肯辛顿已是个处于危机之中的小区，
and anyone familiar with the neighborhood can think of why:
熟悉邻里的人可以想到是为什么：
racial disparities, failure of local and federal government to properly fund schools, lack of economic opportunity.
种族的差异、地方和联邦政府没适当地资助学校、缺乏经济机会。
And what we're trying to do at McPherson is find ways to support this community out of crisis.
而我们在麦克弗森尝试找方法来帮助小区摆脱危机。
And perhaps now, because of the epidemic, more people are paying attention to Kensington.
也许现在由于疫情的影响，更多的人关注肯辛顿。
But regardless of that, at McPherson, we will continue to do what we can with the resources we have
但不管如何，在麦克弗森，我们将继续尽我们所能利用现有的资源，
and we will continue to provide whatever help we can in hopes of keeping our community safe and healthy
我们将继续提供任何协助，以期保持我们的小区安全和健康，
because public libraries have always been more than just books.
因为一直以来，公共图书馆不仅仅是书籍。
We are physical shelter, a classroom, a safe haven, a lunch room, a resource hub and yes, even a lifeline. Thank you.
我们是实体的庇护所、教室、安全的避风港、午餐室、资源中心，是的，甚至还是生命线。谢谢。
