Wichita group offers free naloxone to combat overdose deaths

The group is working to provide resources and education to address the rise in fatal overdoses in Wichita and Sedgwick County.(kwch)
Published: Sep. 24, 2022 at 2:32 PM CDT

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Saturday morning, Safe Streets Wichita handed out free naloxone, a life-saving medication to reverse an overdose.

The group is working to provide resources and education to address the rise in fatal overdoses in Wichita and Sedgwick County.

They partnered with Remedy Alliance for the People and Points of Distribution to get the naloxone doses they are distributing to people who might have a substance abuse disorder or to anyone else that wants any.

“One of the guys that came by earlier, one of his daughters has substance use disorder, told him about this event, and he was like, I have to get here right now, so we got him connected with some free Naloxone,” said Safe Streets Wichita Community Mobilizer Ngoc Vuong.

Out at Lincoln Park, they also provided information about other resources for treatment and recovery and raise awareness.

They said that providing naloxone helps to build a relationship that can pay off later.

Vuong said, “If you can’t get folks to stop using drugs, how can you get them to use it safely in a way that if, whenever they’re ready, they have that option to get treatment? They have that option to get recovery. You can’t do recovery if people are dead.”

Voung said it’s about meeting people where they’re at.

Safe Streets hopes to make the distribution a monthly event, if not more frequently, to make sure free naloxone is available in the community.

Information about future events and other ways the community can help can be found on Safe Streets’ Facebook and social media.