MONTGOMERY, WV (WOAY) – As a part of National Recovery Month and Save a Life Free Naloxone Day, organizations across Kanawha and Putnam counties and a part of Fayette County were handing out free Naloxone in the form of Narcan kits along with free training.
Members of BridgeValley Community and Technical College’s Collegiate Recovery Community were set up at the Montgomery campus to provide the free service.
“Today is Save a Life Free Naloxone Day,” BVCTC Peer Recovery Support Specialist Annette Johnson. “We are training and giving out Narcan kits. This is a huge operation in Kanawha, Putnam and here in Fayette County. We’re giving out over a thousand Narcan kits, so we’re pretty excited.”
Naloxone, or what some typically know as Narcan, is an opioid overdose reversal medication.
Throughout the day on Wednesday, anyone could have stopped by, received the 15-minute training and walked away with the ability to revive someone experiencing an overdose by providing the nasal spray.
Not only was this open to the public but the group also mobilized to empower the community by going into local businesses.
“The more people that carry Naloxone, the more people that get saved that possibly have the chance to go to treatment for their substance use disorders and other occurring issues, so that they can get help and turn their life around and get into recovery,” Recovery Coach Kenneth Matthews said.
Those in the recovery community, like Matthews and Johnson, say carrying Narcan should be as common as carrying a first aid kit.
“Narcan saves lives, and everybody deserves a second chance, and we can’t help people if they’re dead, so as long as we have this available, I’m going to use it, and I’m going to promote it,” Johnson said.
There were 17 sites participating on Wednesday.
