West Deer free store and Arnold food pantry team up for naloxone distribution

A West Deer free store and an Arnold food pantry have teamed up to foster overdose awareness in the communities.

Up to 76 doses of naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal spray, will be distributed June 11 during food pantry hours at the Speed Family Blessing Box along Fifth Avenue in Arnold.

The medication is free.

“We wanted to start bringing more education, whether you are a young adult who may have an encounter or for people who are interested in the health profession,” said Chelsey Speed, who runs the pantry from the former Arnold Volunteer Fire Department No. 2 bingo hall.

“I think it is a benefit to give basic knowledge of the medication and not assume that everyone who comes needs it.”

The giveaway will begin at 1 p.m. June 11. Recipients will need to complete a short training led by professionals from Palmer’s Pharmacy in West Deer. The naloxone is provided by the Allegheny County Health Department.

It is the first time Speed has paired with the Poppin’ Tags Free Store in West Deer for a distribution.

Free Store owner Sonya Dembowski said education is the mission. She teamed with Palmer’s Pharmacy earlier this year for a free naloxone training clinic at her store and said it’s not only illegal drug users that might need the lifesaving spray.

It can be used by people who mistakenly take too much of their prescribed medication, she said.

“It’s important for people to have access, if not for themselves maybe for a loved one or, really, for anyone anywhere,” she said. “Education is so important and that families receive the help they need, that’s what this is about.”

The opioid epidemic is the top public health and safety challenge in the state, according to Attorney General Michelle Henry’s office.

In 2021, 5,168 Pennsylvanians died from overdoses, and an average of 14 residents die every day from an overdose, according to the AG’s website.

“Our mission is to give back to the community,” Dembowski said. “There are a lot of people who might need this for a family member, and the short training can save a life.”

Speed and Dembowski plan to offer the distribution bimonthly at various locations.

“I think it will be received in a positive way,” Speed said. “I grew up near the city, where there were a lot of drugs. It’s better to have the knowledge and not need it than to not have it at all.”