BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Fentanyl continues to threaten lives in Bakersfield and now there’s a new weapon in the fight against overdose deaths.
Narcan dispensers are popping up across the city and the woman who’s organizing the effort is offering the life saving drug for free.
More than 900 lives have been lost in Bakersfield the last 4 years from fentanyl related overdoses. Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is used to reverse opioid overdoses and now it’s free at different locations across the city.
“It takes away that stigma. It makes it readily available,” said Audrey Chavez, founder of the Bakersfield AIDS Project. “They can come, they can just open this door really quick. They can grab one and be off on their day.”
Audrey Chavez, founder of the Bakersfield AIDS Project and co-owner of Martin’s Meats put a free narcan dispenser outside her store along with free fentanyl test strips. There’s also a free narcan dispenser at the Crush Ice Market on Chester Avenue and 10th Street, as well as one at the Downtown Market off 19th Street in downtown Bakersfield.