By Jim Newell
Review Editor
ORION TWP. — A new Save a Life Station has been placed at the Orion Township Public Library so that anyone in the community who needs resources to help reverse an opioid overdose can access the box and get life-saving Narcan.
Community leaders came together on Thursday to support the placement of the station and share their views on the importance of having this resource available to the public.
“As we all know, opioid use continues to pose great risk to youth and families in the Orion community. The presence of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids in our area only exacerbates this concern for the welfare of our friends and neighbors. In an effort to make harm reduction resources more readily available, the Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities has begun deploying “Save A Life” stations throughout Oakland County. These boxes contain opioid reversing Narcan, Fentanyl and Xylazine test strips, safe disposal kits, and community resource lists,” said Tonya Hamilton, executive director of the North Oakland Community Coalition.
Hamilton acknowledged that seeing a Save a Life Station at the library may be a little startling to some people, but it is an essential resource. “This is open access to Narcan, so it’s a change for our community.”
All the medication in the box is safe so parents do not have to worry about kids getting the test strips and nasal spray.
Kyle Cameron, Orion Township Fire Department EMS Coordinator, has been out on calls and seen firsthand opioid overdoses.
“This is a very important resource. Unfortunately, overdoses are a very common occurrence for us, it’s a very common call-type to respond to. There’s no one demographic that you can point to that has a problem with overdoses, it’s anybody. It can be the wealthiest neighborhood; it can be the poorest neighborhood. It can be anywhere in public. It can be someone’s home, it can be out on the street, it can be in a parking lot,” Cameron said. “Shortening that time to this medication that can reverse the effects of the opioid, keeping the person breathing, keeping the person awake is essential to saving the life of that individual.”
Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Darrin Zehnphennig said Sheriff Michael Bouchard has given Narcan to his deputies to carry for several years now.
“This township is not immune. It’s just another tool to have access to save a life. We’ve used Narcan in Kroger, we’ve Narcanned people in parking lots, car washes. The fire department, the sheriff’s office, the Lake Orion Police Department – we all try to get there first to help someone. This is another tool in case we’re not there to save a life,” Zehnphennig said.
Chase McMunn, director of the Orion Township Library, said the library was immediately onboard when they heard about the Save a Life Station.
“We’re a friendly place where the community gathers so we thought we could play a role by volunteering to host (the station),” McMunn said. “We feel like we are welcoming to all members of the community so hopefully anybody that needs this resource doesn’t think twice about coming here to pick up what they need.”
Losing a loved one or friend to an overdose is heartbreaking to those who are trying to save someone but simply do not possess the right medication to do so.
“It’s a tragic, unexpected loss every time that it happens. Overdoses themselves are scary enough, and horrible if you’re not able to reverse them. And too often we’re not able to reverse them, or it’s far too late. It doesn’t take long after you stop breathing,” Cameron said.
Having a Save a Life Station available for the public to access Narcan and information flyers can be crucial to saving a life, Cameron said, adding that people should not be afraid to get medication from the station, or ask for help.
“Never, never feel a stigma about it. It affects anybody. It can be someone who gets medication for a simple procedure, a simple injury, and they find themselves addicted. They could find themselves addicted after trying a family member’s medications. It can affect anybody and you really want to reduce the stigma. It happens. If people hide, we’re afraid that’s going to lead to greater mortality,” Cameron said.
“If they can come here, it’s a great, safe location to have the box,” Cameron said. “There’s plenty of resources out there where you can receive help. If anyone knows someone and there’s an emergency make sure to call 911 immediately.”
“We live in one of the safest communities in the state of Michigan,” said Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett. “But we’re not immune. To think that we’re going to have Narcan at our library even a couple years ago, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. But it’s a different time and unfortunately our young people and our adults are struggling with addiction and we’re not immune from that here.”
The Save a Life Station is stocked and maintained by the Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities.