At Wabash Valley Recovery on Thursday, transportation coordinator Zoe Prather, volunteer Daytona Myers and peer recovery coach Keith Myers gave out packets of Narcan nose spray, Tribune-Star/David Kronke
At six locations in four west central Indiana counties on Thursday, the goal was to distribute 1,000 free doses of naloxone, a nasal spray used for immediate treatment of opioid overdoses. In Vigo County, naloxone — also known by its brand name, Narcan — was handed out at Wabash Valley Recovery Center , Hamilton Center and Anabranch Recovery Center. Recovery centers in Parke, Vermillion and Clay counties also took part in the giveaway.
Naloxone has no expiration date.
Wabash Valley Recovery provided the naloxone to Anabranch, which dispensed 67 doses during their scheduled distribution time period.
“They provided it, so I wouldn’t have had any to give away if weren’t for them,” said Zackery Pritcher, Anabranch’s director of business development, who participated in the giveaway for the first time. “I’m super grateful to them for allowing us to be a part of it.”
At Wabash Valley, by contrast, only 13 had been dispensed in its first four hours of distribution.
Keith Myers, peer recovery coach at Wabash Valley, said there were 1,000 doses in the office, which are given out daily at the center. People can pick them out any time day or night from the outdoor dispenser at the office.
“They just pick them up and go about their business,” he said. Myers said Wabash Valley’s policy is not to pressure addicts to enter recovery.
“Our goal is to build a trust with them, so when they do want to recover, they have someplace to go where they’re not going to be judged,” he said.
“When they come in seeking help, it’s their pathway to recovery — whatever that looks like for them,” Myers added. “We’re a resource center and a peer recovery service. All of us who work here are in recovery.” Myers himself is 13 years clean from abusing prescription opiates.
“We talk them through their recovery in different pathways,” he explained. “Some people, they trust people who have been through it, as opposed to somebody who’s read a book. We offer them connections to sober living and patient rehabs throughout the area.”
Wabash Valley also provides a Lyft ride system — eight free rides a month for those in recovery to use when visiting a doctor or heading to therapy or a meeting.
“They’re very appreciative to have the resources more widely available,” Pritcher said. “There is a bit of a stigma around the medication, so it gives us plenty of opportunities to give some education as to why it’s important for the public at large to have access to it.
“Society has taught us that a certain type of person is the only type of person who would benefit from Naloxone,” he added, “when the truth of the matter is anybody can experience the symptoms of an opioid overdose.”
Myers provided a couple of examples of “anybody.”
“Say your grandparents took medication and they forgot how many they took, and they could overdose, and you’d have Naloxone on hand,” he said. “Or, god forbid, a child could get into your medicine. I believe Naloxone should be in every first-aid kit in every home. It does save lives.”
Pritcher noted that in 2023 drug-related deaths via overdose dropped significantly for the first time since 2020.
“We want to continue that progress,” he said. “We want to continue that momentum and get to the point where a drug overdose death is a rarity.”
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