Health
New Campaign Aims to Combat Opioid Overdoses in Chicago With Free Narcan
Vending machines containing free Narcan will be placed at five CTA stations throughout Chicago as part of a six-month pilot initiative between the CTA and Cook County Health.
Vending machines with the overdose-reversing medication will be installed at the 47th Street Red Line station, the Wilson Red and Purple Line station, the Jefferson Park Blue Line station, the Harlem/Lake Green Line station and the Central Park Pink Line station.
County officials are aiming to increase access to Narcan and decrease the amount of opioid-related deaths that are endemic in Chicago — particularly on the South and West sides.
“The West Side is the epicenter of overdose deaths,” said Richard Vargas, director of outreach and engagement for the West Side Heroin and Opioid Task Force. “There’s a lot of street use. When you combine that with poverty-stricken areas and street-drug use, those numbers will go up.”
There have been 480 confirmed opioid overdoses in Cook County so far this year, in addition to 183 pending cases that are probable overdose deaths. The number of overdose deaths has been steadily trending downward since 2022.
Black men over the age of 40 are the most vulnerable demographic to suffer from opioid-related deaths, along with anyone who is opioid dependent.
Vargas works on the West Side in predominantly Black neighborhoods that are classified as medical deserts. Bridging the accessibility gap for those communities is about getting naloxone into “every home, every neighborhood and every community” because aside from street-drug use, people also use opioid pain medication.
Dr. Thomas Nutter, who serves as chief behavioral health officer for Cook County Health, said the catalyst behind the vending machine program was to meet people where they’re at, and a lot of people use public transit.
“It makes sense to go where people are and get it in the hands of as many people as possible,” Nutter said. “Not just people who use opioids but family, friends, people who may come into contact with somebody who overdosed.”
Vending machines containing free Narcan will be placed at five CTA stations throughout Chicago. (WTTW News)
“I believe very strongly we’ll see huge improvements,” said Dan Lustig, president and CEO of the Haymarket Center, who praised the strategic placements of the vending machines. “We just need to work on the other end of that, and that’s linking patients to treatment.”
Lustig emphasized that drug addiction is both criminalized and poorly funded because of the stigma and shame around substance use.
“Stigma is killing people and preventing them from getting help,” Lustig said.
