This old newspaper box is a first in Ohio, offering free overdose help in Canton

Grace Springer, Canton Repository
·4 min read
Tiffany Skillern, executive director at Stark Community Support Network, and Michelle Streetman, Canton Public Health overdose prevention program coordinator, fill a repurposed newspaper box with Narcan. They say it's the first of its kind in Ohio.
Tiffany Skillern, executive director at Stark Community Support Network, and Michelle Streetman, Canton Public Health overdose prevention program coordinator, fill a repurposed newspaper box with Narcan. They say it's the first of its kind in Ohio.

CANTON − An old newspaper box has a new and potentially lifesaving purpose.

Ohio's first newspaper box turned Narcan distributor made its debut this week in Canton, promising free access to the lifesaving medicine in an area of need.

The box, located in the lobby of the Stark Community Support Network on 1221 Harrisburg Road NE, is stocked with Narcan, also known as naloxone. Narcan is a safe medicine that can rapidly reverse overdoses from opioids such as heroin and fentanyl.

In 2022, overdose deaths in Stark County rose by 11% compared to the previous year, according to the Stark County Health Department's annual overdose report.

More: Overdose deaths drop in Ohio, but increase in Stark County. Why?

The box at Stark Community Support Network will serve the 44705 area code, an area identified as having the highest need in the city.

Tiffany Skillern, executive director at the network, said poverty, unemployment and other factors could contribute to why the area is at a high risk for overdose.

"In our neighborhood, living in high crime, high poverty, you kind of lose hope," she said. "In order to pad those feelings and emotions, people turn to substances."

Tiffany Skillern fills a repurposed newspaper box with Narcan. The new box, a first in Ohio, is at the Stark Community Support Network.
Tiffany Skillern fills a repurposed newspaper box with Narcan. The new box, a first in Ohio, is at the Stark Community Support Network.

Skillern said the box is in a place the community trusts.

"We're already the trusted resource in the community," she said. "People will say, 'I know that's a judgment-free zone.'"

The distribution box holds as many as 50 Narcan kits. Each comes with two nasal sprays and instructions for use. Getting Narcan from the box is free, no questions asked.

Canton Narcan access: 'Anyone can use it'

Canton City Public Health has worked to increase access to naloxone and other harm reduction resources since 2019.

In its first year, the organization distributed about 1,300 kits. Last year, they distributed 5,000.

Overdose Prevention Program Coordinator Michelle Streetman, who also designed the outside of the new distribution box, said the effort is helping to change the conversation around addiction in the community.

"Of course, we want to see overdose numbers decline. That's not going to happen overnight," she said. "What I love to see is when mindsets start to change. Anyone in the community should carry this; it's not just for people who are actively using drugs."

Streetman said at the beginning of their efforts, people were less familiar with Narcan and became defensive when learning about it.

"The next reaction was, 'Oh, I don't use drugs,'" she said. "People would automatically think we're pointing a finger, and that's not the case.

"For people in the community that are able and willing to respond, it's such an easy medication to use," she said. "You don't have to have a medical background, you don't have to be a nurse or EMS. Anyone can use it."

Canton City Public Health also provides Narcan to naloxone distribution boxes across the city, such as at the vending machine at the Refuge of Hope Ministries shelter.

Moving forward, Canton City Public Health hopes to have three more distribution boxes in the county by the end of November.

The Stark Community Support Network, though a partnership with Canton City Public Health, has the first repurposed newspaper Narcan distribution box in Ohio.
The Stark Community Support Network, though a partnership with Canton City Public Health, has the first repurposed newspaper Narcan distribution box in Ohio.

How to administer Narcan

If someone around you is suffering an overdose, immediately call 911.

Here are the CDC's guidelines for administering naloxone nasal spray.

  1. Call 911.

  2. Remove nasal spray from packaging.

  3. Hold the spray with your thumb on the plunger, and tilt back the recipient's head.

  4. Insert the tip of the spray into either nostril of the person experiencing the overdose, and firmly press the plunger to release the full dose into the nostril.

  5. Wait 2-3 minutes for the person to respond. If no response, give additional doses, switching nostrils, until help arrives.

The CDC also recommends laying the person on their side to prevent choking and staying with the person until emergency assistance arrives.

How to know if someone has overdosed

Signs someone is experiencing an overdose, according to the CDC, include:

  • Unresponsiveness, falling asleep or losing consciousness

  • Slow, weak or no breathing

  • Limp body

  • Pale, cold and clammy skin

  • Discolored skin, especially in lips or nails

  • Gurgling, snoring or choking sounds

  • Small, constricted pupils

If you are unsure if someone is having an overdose, administering Narcan is safe and should not have any negative effect.

Reach Grace at 330-580-8364 or gspringer@gannett.com. Follow her on X @GraceSpringer16.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Distribution box in Canton provides free overdose reversal drug Narcan