As part of an effort to reduce overdoses in the city, Philadelphia fire stations will soon offer easier access to medication designed to reverse an overdose.

Naloxone in Black is Philadelphia’s local version of Vital Strategies’ nationwide “You Have the Power to Save Lives” campaign.

The program makes naloxone available for free in newspaper-style boxes outside 61 city fire stations. The goal is to get the overdose-reversing drug into the hands of people who need it in communities where there’s a high volume of people who are in crisis.

“You don’t need to provide any information,” said Martin McCall, deputy commissioner for emergency medical services. “You just walk up, open the box and take what you need. When it comes to overdose prevention, this program will save lives.”

Philadelphia Chief Public Safety Officer Adam Geer said he’s got the life-saving drug everywhere.

“I’ve got some in my car, got some in my house, got some in my briefcase,” he said. “It’s with me and I’ve had to use it. I’ve had to be the only person who comes upon a situation who has it.”

Last year, a Pennsylvania Department of Health study found that Black people who died from opioid overdoses were half as likely as white people to receive naloxone. The study also found that Black overdose deaths in the state were up more than 50% between 2019 and 2021, while white overdose deaths showed no change.

The number of overdoses is going down in some parts of the city, but not everywhere.

“For white Philadelphians, it dropped by 12%,” Geer said. “I was sobered by becoming familiar with this tragic number that the rates for Black Philadelphians is increasing by 87%.” He said that disparity must be addressed.

“Fire stations are already trusted spaces,” Geer said. “They’re open 24/7 and these boxes ensure that life-saving naloxone is available to anyone at any time.”

The 61 fire stations that will offer the drug are specifically located where there are large Black populations. It’s designed so residents can keep the drug on hand for when overdose incidents happen in a home or somewhere else outside of the public eye, where police or paramedics may not be able to quickly respond.

Geer said the city is also offering free training on how to administer the drug, “although it’s a quick process where people insert the dispenser into the nasal cavity to dispense the drug.”

Black Pennsylvanians are 50% less likely to receive naloxone, despite soaring overdose deaths, new study finds

Cultural, systemic and historical factors have converged to create the perfect storm when it comes to Black overdose deaths.

The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, or DDAP, is paying to supply 50,000 doses of naloxone for the campaign. Outside of Philadelphia, the department has distributed 400,000 doses statewide during the first six months of the year.

“During that same time frame, organizations that partner with us report that more than 6,000 overdose reversals were performed using naloxone supplied by DDAP’s overdose prevention program,” said Kelly Primus, the department’s deputy secretary. “When people are carrying naloxone, they save lives.”