The Will County Health Department continues its efforts to make access to the life-saving, overdose-reversing drug Naloxone (Narcan) easier with the addition of a red Naloxone distribution box at the Veterans Assistance Commission of Will County, 2400 Glenwood Avenue, Suite 110, in Joliet.
Naloxone is a medication designed to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose and is available through the Illinois Department of Human Services/Substance Use Prevention and Recovery Access Narcan program free-of-charge to all individuals in Will County. Naloxone binds to opioid receptors in the brain and can reverse and block the effects of opioids. It can begin working within minutes to restore breathing, consciousness, and save a life.
“The Will County Health Department is continuing to make Naloxone readily available throughout the county,” said Dr. Kathleen Burke, Will County Health Department’s Program Coordinator for Substance Use Initiatives. “Adding a distribution box at the Veterans Assistance Commission is a great step to help us make this life-saving drug available to our veterans.”
Will County Health Department’s 10 distribution boxes were donated by Saved My Life, an Illinois non- profit organized as a conduit to provide access to free Naloxone in public spaces and business throughout Illinois. Will County’s 10 distribution boxes can be found at the following locations:
- Will County Health Department – Main Office, 501 Ella Avenue, Joliet
- Will County Community Health Center, 1106 Neal Avenue, Joliet
- Will County Health Department Northern Branch Office, 323 Quadrangle Drive, Bolingbrook
- Will County Court House – Two distribution boxes, 100 W. Jefferson Street, Joliet)
- Will County Office Building, 302 N. Chicago Street, Joliet
- Veterans Assistance Commission of Will County, 2400 Glenwood Avenue, Suite 110, Joliet
- White Oak Library District – Crest Hill Branch, 20670 City Center Boulevard, Crest Hill
- White Oak Library District – Lockport Branch, 121 E. Eighth Street, Lockport
- White Oak Library District – Romeoville Branch, 201 W. Normantown Road, Romeoville.
The goal of the distribution boxes is to make Naloxone more readily available to the public for emergency use. In 2023, there were 95 opioid overdose deaths in Will County, down from 112 the previous year. In 2023, 103 overdoses were reversed, more than double the total from 2022. The Will County Health Department distributed more than 11,000 Naloxone kits last year.
“When we started our distribution box program earlier this year, our goal was to create an effective way to make Naloxone more readily available throughout Will County,” said Burke. “We want the community to understand many of the utilizers of these boxes are people who are not using opioids, but they want to be able to assist in an emergency situation, or perhaps they have a family member or friend who is struggling with a substance use disorder, and they want to be prepared. I encourage everyone to keep naloxone with you, in your home, and in first aid kits, as it’s a life-saving medication to use in a rescue situation, and minutes count in an overdose situation.”
Residents interested in obtaining Naloxone may visit one of the red distribution box locations or email sui@willcountyhealth.org. Naloxone training also is offered through the Will County Health Department by emailing sui@willcountyhealth.org.