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ELKINS -- An Appalachian Save a Life Day celebration will take place today at the Elkins City Park.
The Elkins event is just one of over 300 gatherings that are taking place in 13 states, including West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee. Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Maryland and New York.
The medication Naloxone, which is also known as Narcan, will be distributed during the event today from noon to 5 p.m. during the event in Elkins. Those attending will be shown the proper way to distribute the medication, which has no adverse side effects and works to reverse opioid overdoses.
Katie Ross, a local volunteer with Solutions Oriented Addiction Response (SOAR), helped organize the event alongside Markie Jeffries and Jackie Tingler. Ross is taking the lead for "Save a Life Day," while Jefferies and Tingler are key partners and site leaders.
"We will be distributing primarily the nasal kind of naloxone at the event," Ross said. "Anyone can carry Narcan and they can shoot it up anyone's nose who is overdosing and it can save their life.
"Not only will we be giving out free Narcan, there is also going to be a Resource Fair with some local social service organizations handing out information as well."
All attendees at the event, which will take place in the large pavilion at City Park, will receive one Narcan kit, as well as in-person training and information about local resources.
"It only takes five minutes for us to show people how to use Narcan," said Ross. "So, if anyone wants to stop by and get some, the training takes less than five minutes and they can take it home to keep with them in case they ever encounter anyone who is overdosing. We will teach them everything they need to know about administering the medicine."
The Randolph County Health Department, Centers Against Violence, Family Resource Center and the Randolph County Housing Authority will be among the different organizations handing out information at the event.
"Save a Life Day" first started with a two-county pilot in West Virginia in 2020. It expanded to 17 counties in 2021 and last year all 55 counties in the state participated. Across Appalachia, organizers plan to distribute more than 30,000 naloxone doses throughout the day. Each location is powered by local volunteers who attend Naloxone training.
"Day of Action is about showing how Appalachia is also a place people can look to for solutions," said Appalachian Save a Life Day Coordinator Iris Sidikman. "We are a region rich in mutual aid and a place where everyone has lost somebody. And on Sept. 14 and every other day, we are turning that pain into care, courage and power."
Naloxone distribution has expanded in recent years. In 2023 the FDA approved two naloxone nasal products for over the counter distribution.