The Village of Oak Park | 123 Madison St.  Oak Park, IL 60302 | village@oak-park.us

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Community embracing opioid overdose prevention program

Sept. 6, 2023 – Three months after its debut, the Oak Park Department of Public Health’s Opioid Overdose Prevention Project has distributed more than 800 doses of the life-saving medication Naloxone, commonly known as Narcan.

This fall, the Health Department will continue to offer training to interested community members on how to recognize signs of an overdose and how to administer Narcan.

The next training is at 6:30 p.m. on Thurs., Sept. 21 in Room 101 at Village Hall, 123 Madison St. Interested participants can click here to register for this free training.

In May, the Health Department began implementation of the Opioid Overdose Project with a Village-wide communications campaign, a volunteer event to help prepare the first set of overdose prevention kits, a training for community members on overdose response, and distribution of Narcan nasal spray and fentanyl test strips through easily accessible boxes located throughout the community.

There are seven box locations throughout Oak Park, most on Village property and accessible 24 hours a day. One box is located in the lobby of the Oak Park Library’s Main Branch, and another is located in Maple Park. Click here to see a map of locations.

The Oak Park community has responded positively to this initiative. In the first three months of the project, 804 doses of Narcan were distributed along with fentanyl test strips, instructions for using both, and information on recovery and harm reduction services.

Twice as many overdose prevention kits were taken from the boxes in the third month of the project compared to the first. Health department staff have also distributed overdose prevention kits at community events like Thursday Night Out and A Day in Our Village, by request at Village Hall and at trainings and education events. 

Project staff regularly attend regional and statewide opioid taskforce meetings and have leveraged relationships with non-profits and other local health departments to improve the program.

In addition, the Health Department has provided technical assistance to other organizations starting opioid overdose prevention programs, contributed to research on community distribution of Narcan, and have been invited to present the project for the 2023 annual meeting of the Illinois Public Health Association.

The ongoing training sessions are open to anyone, and an upcoming phase of the program will focus on local businesses, bars and restaurants, and offering training to their employees.  

For more information about the program, visit www.oak-park.us/naloxone or contact the Public Health Department at 708.358.5480 or health@oak-park.us.