CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Volunteers handed out free naloxone kits and swag bags to the Kanawha County community Thursday for Save a Life Day.
The movement started back in 2020 in the county, and now has since grown to 30 other states and over 300 counties.
The volunteers are spread out between 15 different sites to hand out the lifesaving naloxone, and one volunteer, Jennie said that the goal of Save a Life Day is to get this drug out there in the community.
“And were trying to get naloxone out there in the community, so if someone overdoses, they will be able to be rescued and saved with the lifesaving drug,” Jennie said.
This movement has meant a lot to the community and Rhiannon Wiseman, another volunteer said that it means so much because we are losing people every day.
“Because were losing everyone, there’s not going to be very many left, if we don’t do something now, preventive measures, outreach,” Wiseman said. “All we can do, just hope it works.”
When people go to these sites they have a kit, with naloxone, that, when you push a button, will walk you through what to do when someone is overdosing. Wiseman said that the reason they do this event is, one to help save lives but also because people want to be able to help.
“Well, people are, there asking for it, so I hope their using it. I haven’t checked the overdose numbers recently, but I hope it’s bringing it down.” Wiseman said.
The numbers have gone down, according to the City of Charleston’s former Quick Response Coordinator that since Save a Life Day was started, it has made a difference in how many overdoses Kanawha County has seen.
Jennie and another volunteer Lindsay Acree debunked some misconceptions that they hear all of the time surrounding drug addiction and overdoses.
Lindsay Acree said that the misconception that she hears a lot is a big one because everyone deserves to live.
“I do hear a lot of things in the community, about people should only be saved an x number of times or whatever. But you know everybody deserves life and we really want to make sure that everybody has the opportunity to live another day,” Acree said.
And Jennie said that her misconception is that drug addiction targets a specific type of person.
“Well, people think that it only happens to those people, or it only happens to homeless people,” Jennie said. “Or that it couldn’t happen to them or to their family. The truth is that addiction doesn’t discriminate, it crosses class lines, it crosses racial lines. You have no idea if someone in your family is addicted to drugs or not because it’s a disease that hides in the dark.”
Kanawha Country last year gave the most naloxone, giving out 4,150 doses in 24 hours, and this year they planned on keeping that ranking by handing out 2,000 free swag bags and 463 new emergency wall boxes.