Final Preparations Underway For ‘National Save A Life’ Day

Organizers of the sixth annual National Save A Life Day on Thursday are busily preparing for their biggest year yet. 

“I’ve spent the last few days getting all of my supplies prepared, making sure everybody has their t-shirts, making sure that everyone’s got the right amount of naloxone, what volunteer is going to be where,” event coordinator Caroline Wilson said. “Just like sorting out those little last-minute things and then doing a lot of posting about it, emailing about it, and just trying to spread the word.” 

Organized by the harm reduction non-profit SOAR West Virginia, the day started in Charleston in 2020 – and now takes place in every state. Visitors can get a free naloxone kit, which reverses the effects of an opiate overdose at any of the 243 events in West Virginia and more than 1,200 nationwide.  

Wilson said fentanyl has changed the addiction crisis in recent years, increasing the likelihood of a fatal overdose. Her goal this year is to give away even more naloxone kits than in previous years. 

“Last year we did 133,000 doses across the country. I would love to do just a little bit more than that,” she said. “We have seen a huge decline in overdose rates. And I’m not saying that it’s due to Save Life Day because it’s due to a lot of work by a lot of people in a lot of different fields. But I would love to see those rates keep going down.” 

Visit SaveALife.Day for a map of events.