Fred Smith spends his Wednesdays cruising Baton Rouge with a car trunk full of second chances. Inside are boxes of Narcan, a medication that can pull someone back from an opioid overdose, along with fentanyl testing strips, hygiene products and numbers for recovery hotlines.
His first stop is a small Mid-City homeless camp, then the shelter at St. Vincent de Paul. By 11 a.m., temperatures are climbing past 90 degrees, and the line outside for the shelter’s free lunch is packed.
“Anybody struggling with drug addiction? It’s free!” the 53-year-old says, beckoning people toward the bundles in his car, dozens vanishing within minutes. “We’re trying to save lives! Spread the word!”…