KARK 4 Anchor Laura Monteverdi shares personal account on importance of Narcan availability with Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary

As part of #SavingARGeneration, it’s important to not only educate people about addiction and the stigmas surrounding it, but to show you how you can have an impact and potentially save a life.

Naloxone, known best as Narcan, is a medication used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. You can get it at your local pharmacy without a prescription. The drug has saved countless lives in our state.

I witnessed the importance of Narcan first-hand in 2018, on a sunny October afternoon, when a woman overdosed in the car in front of me while at a stop light. At the time I did not carry Narcan, but thankfully the police had it and were able to save her life. Since that day I don’t leave home without it.

On Monday I had the pleasure of speaking about Narcan at the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary meeting. In a room of about 20 women, I shared my personal connection to addiction, having lost someone I love to the disease in 2015. I showed them how Narcan is used and how accessible it is to everyone. Some of the women in the room had never heard of the overdose-reversing drug or how simple it was to use.

As part of our Saving AR Generation campaign in connection with the Arkansas Drug Director, every woman in that room left with a Narcan kit, armed and ready to save lives.

It makes me feel good knowing that there are more people on the street educated about addiction and prepared to help in the event of an overdose.

It could be you sitting at a stop light one day waiting for your turn to go when your help is needed. Take it from me, you can never be too prepared.

If you’re interested in learning more about Narcan and how to get it, visit PreventionAR.com.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK.