Seven specially marked boxes spread around Oak Park contain what could be life-saving devices publicly placed to be accessible in case of an opioid overdose.
Mostly red ones, the boxes are provided by the Oak Park Department of Public Health as part of an initiative started in May 2023 to distribute naloxone nasal spray – also known by the brand name Narcan – which blocks the effects of an overdose from opioids such as heroin, some prescription painkillers and fentanyl.
In various ways, according to data the village has been keeping, Oak Park has made available over 1,100 pouches that contain the antidote, with more than 700 accessible through the public boxes while hundreds more distributed at community events. Dozens have been given out at Village Hall and some made available for training purposes.
Sara Semelka, the village’s health education manager, said people seem to have learned more about the anti-overdosing substance over the past year,
“It does seem that people are really receptive,” she told Pioneer Press. “A lot of people are really curious, they have questions about [Narcan].”
The local program that includes making the overdose medication readily available launched alongside others in the area and nationwide. Oak Park calls its effort the “Opioid Overdose Prevention Project.”
Officials explained that the program in Oak Park is funded through the Illinois Opioid Allocation Agreement through which settlement funds from opioid manufacturers and distributors are passed out to states for use in combating the opioid epidemic.
Oak Park has received about $50,000 so far to fund its naloxone distribution and training events, Semelka said. That money funnels from various sources, including the state, to get to Oak Park.
“We expect the opioid overdose prevention project to continue for quite a while. Actually, a lot of the stuff that’s in the pouches is free from public health organizations in our state,” said Semelka.
She explained that the naloxone is courtesy of the Illinois Department of Public Health, and some of the other materials inside the red boxes – or distributed by hand – come from such places as the Cook County public health department.
The village pays for the pouches, in addition to some other printed material that goes inside it, she said.
“I would say that cost [to provide naloxone] is relatively minimal. The biggest cost is our time to monitor … and to help our volunteers restock and refill the boxes. We do trainings. We host volunteer events to help us put together the pouches – like an assembly line style,” said Semelka.
The volunteer events are, consequently, a good way to engage with the community and to provide education about the efforts, she added.
Last May when the initiative began, 151 people had an overdose episode in Oak Park in 2022, according to a village news release.
The purpose of the red boxes in the village continues to be, “get the Narcan out in the community – in as many places as possible,” Semelka said.
Oak Park resident Sheila Haennicke began looking for ways to raise awareness and brainstorm solutions after her son overdosed on the Blue Line train in late 2021. She now trains people on how to administer naloxone, working with the Oak Park Public Health Department. She learned about the program through her participation with the West Side Heroin and Opioid Task Force, which is a network of professionals and volunteers started by state Rep. La Shawn K. Ford, D-Chicago – whose district includes a sliver of Oak Park.
“I think Oak Park is a model for what other communities can do. It’s a simple solution and they’ve been able to maintain those boxes. … It raises people’s awareness, and I think that’s important,” Haennicke said.
Semelka said the village does not know, particularly, who is receiving the pouches from the red boxes.
“We’re just trying to make this freely available to the community because we get Narcan free from the state. So, we want to make sure it’s free for anyone who wants it,” she said. “A person could come and take all six out of the box, and that’s fine with us. We’ll just refill it.”
Tom Ackerman is a freelancer.
