Gary Health Department’s director is happy that the city is helping make a difference with residents who need it.
“We’re super excited,” Veronica Collins-Ellis said. “This is going to make a big impact, and we’re going to understand more why reduction is important.”
The city of Gary installed its first Narcan vending machine at the Adam Benjamin Jr. Metro Center on March 21, and the health department plans to install additional machines throughout the city.
“The Narcan is free,” Collins-Ellis said. “A person who is looking to retrieve the Narcan can go to any vending machine, press the key and receive one box with two doses of Narcan in it.”
The vending machine also has more information about Narcan and how to administer it if someone is having an overdose.
Narcan is a nasal spray designed to rapidly reverse effects of an opioid overdose, according to narcan.com, and it’s available as an over-the-counter medicine. Gary first responders use Narcan to save lives when fentanyl is mixed into cocaine, heroin, marjuana and methamphetamine, according to a news release.
“Our officers have seen firsthand the devastating impact of overdoses, and we know that Narcan can make a difference,” Gary Chief of Police Derrick Cannon said in a news release. “By making it more accessible, we are empowering our community to take action and help their family members at home, which is unfortunately where most overdoses happen.”
Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid that is used for pain relief and as an anesthetic, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration website. It is about 100 times more potent than morphine and about 50 times more potent than heroin.
“This is a crucial step towards addressing the opioid crisis that has affected so many of our families and communities,” Mayor Eddie Melton said in a news release. “By making lifesaving Narcan readily available, we are giving our residents a fighting chance to survive overdoses and ultimately save lives. My administration will continue to fight against the devastating impacts of addiction and gather resources to give families the support they need.”
Gary’s Narcan vending machine initiative is funded through Indiana Opioid Settlement Funds, Collins-Ellis said, but she did not say how much of the funds go toward the vending machine.
The health department was awarded more than $1.2 million in restricted funds and about $402,557 in unrestricted funds that will be distributed over a 16-year period, according to a city news release.
Gary’s health department hired a behavior health manager who is trained to provide education, training and maintenance as other vending machine locations are selected. Collins-Ellis said Gary plans to add vending machines to Midtown, Glenn Park and Aetna neighborhoods.
“Drug use and mental health kind of overlaps a bit,” Collins-Ellis said. “The health department is creating a network of services with a focus on substance use and addictions to assist, navigate and refer community members to services in our community.”
Gary is not the only community that uses Narcan. Porter County Sheriff’s Department officers carry the nasal spray and has multiple overdoses available in their vehicles.
Porter County Sheriff Jeffrey Balon said in a statement that administering Narcan is important to avoid an overdose and helps save lives. Having the nasal spray more readily available, the chances of survival from an overdose are higher.
“Some form of substance dependency touches nearly every family, in every walk of life, so why would we not want to prevent a loved one from dying from dying,” Balon said. “If the person using is saved by a loved one, it might be the wake-up call they need to seek out the help to beat their dependency.”