The High Springs Fire Department launched a free Narcan distribution program at the beginning of February. The program is a preventative measure to empower the community to respond to opioid overdoses before first responders arrive.
Narcan is a medication that reverses the effects of overdoses by blocking opioid receptors in the brain. It’s administered as a nasal spray and can quickly restore someone’s breathing in two to three minutes, said Kyle Livingston, the community risk reduction coordinator at the High Springs Fire Department. Narcan is safe to administer even if the person turns out to not be overdosing.
Livingston said sometimes the fire department can take five or more minutes to get to the scene and another two to three minutes for the Narcan to work after being administered. With the accessibility of this program, it’s possible for a bystander to administer Narcan as soon as the situation arises.
At least 44 people died in Alachua County of drug overdose in 2024, according to the Florida Department of Health. The overdose rate was 16.8 per 100,000 people, slightly lower than the state average of 21.3.
There are currently three Narcan cabinets as part of High Springs’ program. One is located at the High Springs Fire Station, and two are located at High Springs City Hall — one upstairs near employee offices and one downstairs for the general public.
Each Narcan cabinet is an anonymous, grab-and-go resource for the public. Whether Narcan is kept in someone's purse or at home, the program is meant to be accessible. Having Narcan readily available can potentially save a life before medical help arrives, Livingston said.
The cabinets are expected to expand to the local Winn-Dixie in High Springs, according to Livingston. One will be installed in the manager’s office, and Livingston will train managers on how to safely use Narcan and how to identify signs of opioid overdose. Winn-Dixie is awaiting approval to install an additional cabinet in a publicly accessible area at the store, he said.
With approval through the state in November 2025 and with a distribution report turned in monthly, the Department of Children and Families will provide additional cabinets, and the Florida Department of Health will supply Narcan for High Springs.
“This program goes far past just people suffering with addiction, because there's opioids out there just in your standard pain meds,” Livingston said.
Livingston worked with the Department of Children and Families and the Florida Department of Health to get the program started. The program has been in the works since July 2025.
“Coming back from a family vacation, I saw an old newspaper machine, and it was painted red,” Livingston said. “It said ‘Emergency Narcan.’”
After doing more research on Narcan distribution, Livingston discovered Gilchrist County runs the same program. He got in touch with the Hanley Foundation, an organization that aims to eliminate addiction through prevention, advocacy, treatment and recovery support. The foundation helped with the Gilchrist initiative and supplied Livingston with two cabinets to jumpstart the program in High Springs.
Angela Noon, the Hanley Foundation's data coordinator, said the foundation has assisted 12 Florida counties in installing 248 cabinets. From those cabinets, 18,092 doses were taken from the cabinet in 2024, and 552 doses were taken in 2025.
“I think people forget that Narcan can save all lives,” Noon said.
Noon said the free Narcan distribution program can help with overdoses unrelated to drug addiction. A child being exposed to opioids or elderly people with memory loss accidentally double-dosing on their medication are possible situations where this program strives to help, she said.
“You can give it to a child as well,” Noon said. “If you don’t know what the person’s overdosing from, and you give them Narcan, there’s no negative effects.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, the signs of an opioid overdose include gurgling sounds coming from the mouth, slowed heartbeat and breathing, vomiting, weak limbs, blue lips and unresponsiveness.
Dr. Kent Mathias, the director of the detoxification and dual diagnosis unit at UF Health’s Psychiatric Hospital, treats patients struggling with addiction. A similar Narcan distribution program is in place at the psychiatric hospital, and Mathias knows how important it can be.
“I myself support it as well, because if you don’t have it, then you can’t save somebody,” Mathias said.
Mathias acknowledged education is a possible missing piece with more free Narcan resources becoming available.
“While it’s being given out, the training of how to use it and how to recognize an opioid overdose doesn’t always go hand in hand,” Mathias said. “My biggest hope is that the trainings become more robust than the systems that are already using it, so people feel comfortable using it.”
Savannah Wroath is a contributing writer for The Alligator.
