SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota (KELO) – From 2020 to 2022, 219 people died from drug overdoses. south dakota; 33% of those deaths were caused by fentanyl. Today, National Fentanyl Awareness Day, one organization is taking steps to prevent an increase in overdose deaths in the state.
Emily’s Hope, a nonprofit organization that helps eliminate the stigma of drug use and addiction, has installed a Narcan dispenser box inside the Jones 421 building in downtown Sioux Falls. You can take the box home for free.
“Narcan is available to everyone, and we encourage everyone to carry it,” said Angela Kennecke, founder and CEO of Emily’s Hope. Ta. “It’s not just something that people who use illegal drugs carry. It’s something that everyone carries with them. People have been saved from overdosing in supermarket bathrooms, in traffic jams, everywhere. I think this is a good idea.”
Narcan, or naloxone, is a nasal spray that can quickly block the effects of opiates, restore breathing, and reverse an overdose. Emily’s Hope included a QR code on the dispenser box. Instructions on how to administer Narcan.
“I feel like I’m just shouting from the rooftops about this, trying to save lives,” Koenecke said. “This epidemic is only getting worse. Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 18 and 45,” said Angela Kennecke, founder of Emily’s Hope. .
Emily’s Hope currently has one box in the Jones421 building and is working with the city to find a location for a second box. Koenecke said Narcan must be stored in a temperature-controlled area or it may not work. Medications can be frozen and rethawed, but do not let them get too hot.
“If you put it outside in the summer sun, it can get up to 110 degrees behind glass like that, so it has to be in a temperature-controlled area,” Kennecke said.
In addition to free Narcan dispensers, we’ll also be giving away free Emily’s Hope fentanyl test strips Helpful for harm reduction. Test strips can be found anywhere test strips can be used, including bars, tattoo shops, half-houses, and public restrooms.
“It’s one way to keep people alive,” Kennecke said. “We want to stop illegal drug use completely, because it’s very dangerous and can be deadly. But this is one way to keep people alive. .”
Sioux Falls Police Chief John Tam said SFPD worked with the DEA and the Sioux Falls Narcotics Regional Task Force to seize a record amount of fentanyl last year.
“We’re not going to get out of this situation. We’re not going to arrest our way out of this situation,” Sam said. “There’s only a limited number of boxes of Narcan, right? We need to come together and work on it to say we’re going to make positive change in our communities and buck some of the national trends. there is.”
