The non-profit Foundations to Freedom is working to fight the opioid crisis and provide people with the overdose treatment drug Nargon through vending machines installed in Volusia county. It’s part of an effort by the non-profit which also provides supportive housing with wraparound services.
Narcan is a brand name for a device that delivers naloxone, an opioid-overdose antidote often carried by first responders and caretakers of people with heroin addiction. One Narcan vending machine was installed last month in Deland, and just last week, a second was placed in Ormond Beach. So far, over 60 kits have been dispensed from the machine in Deland.
Foundation to Freedom's executive director, Katherine Russell, said this initiative helps make Narcan more accessible, allowing more people to be prepared to handle a potential overdose.
“Anyone at any time can walk up to the vending machines,” Russell said. “We have them 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They walk up to the vending machine and it dispenses just like a Coke machine, with the exception of you don't have to put your money in there.”
Because of the accessibility of Narcan, Russell said the machines provide people with a peace of mind to protect themselves and those around them. While ambulances race to the scene, Narcan can save someone’s life while waiting for emergency services.
In 2017, Russell had a loved one who died from an overdose and she said “it took the ambulance almost 15 minutes to arrive…so [Narcan] can definitely be the difference between life and death in that situation.”
Each vending machine costs around $12,000. The funding comes from the Opioid Abetment Grant, funding from the state and county to help combat the opioid crisis. With this funding, Volusia County approached Russell and Foundations to Freedom to install the machines.
According to Florida Health, drug overdoses have become the leading case of injury death in the state. While Russell said overdoses in Volusia County are not decreasing, deaths by overdose are.
Russell said her motivation for creating Foundations to Freedom was to help those suffering from addiction and drug abuse. As someone who is in long term recovery, Russell said she understands how drug abuse and addiction can take a toll on someone.
“I know what desperation and hopelessness feels like,” Russell said. “To be out there living a life of substance use day after day. It took me a lot to come out the other side. So, I started Foundations to Freedom to be able to give any addict who wants freedom from substance abuse disorder and that life, to be able to have a place to come and stay and rebuild their lives.”
In total, Foundations to Freedom has funding for six more machines that will be placed around Volusia County. The machines are placed in locations throughout the county known to have high overdoses.
