All 13 Appalachian states will be hosting more than 300 events on September 14 to distribute Naloxone.
Save a Life Day organizers started in 2020 with a two-county pilot project in West Virginia, which then expanded to 17 counties in 2021, and last year all 55 West Virginia counties participated.
Naloxone is a medication that works to reverse opioid overdoses. One common brand is Narcan, an easy-to-use nasal spray.
Now, just three years since the effort began, West Virginia-based SOAR is working with more than 180 counties across 13 states.
SOAR is a Charleston-based community group with the stated goal of promoting the health, dignity, and voices of individuals who are impacted by drug use.
Iris Sidikman, who goes by they/them pronouns, is the Appalachian Save a Life Day Coordinator with SOAR.
“You never know when you might need that,” Sidikman said. “You might see someone overdose in a grocery store parking lot at a park by your house like best case scenario, you have it and you know how to use it and you never have to.”
A map of events can be found at www.savealifeappalachia.org.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.