East Troy High School installs Narcan boxes in effort to help combat fentanyl crisis

 

WALWORTH COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- As the fentanyl crisis continues, East Troy High School in Walworth County is joining a growing list of Wisconsin schools installing Narcan boxes on site.

Inside the new OAK (overdose aid kit) boxes, there is Narcan - each one containing two doses, one for each nostril, delivered two to three minutes apart.

These moms are turning pain into progress. Both have lived the nightmare of fentanyl poisoning. Now, they're speaking to students and pushing to get Narcan into more schools.

"And a lot of parents will be like, 'not my kid,' and I always say I was that mom that would've said, like, 'not my kid,'" said Erin Rachwal, Love Logan Foundation.

Logan Rachwal was in his freshman year at UWM when he took a pill he didn't know contained a lethal dose of fentanyl.

"We can't run around with blinders on, pretending it's not happening," said Wisconsin State Senator Jessie James (R-Altoona).

State Senator James, who helped Wisconsin legalize fentanyl testing strips, joined these moms at East Troy High School Tuesday. He even got to put the box on the wall.

"And some of my colleagues will say, well, we're promoting illicit substance use, we're promoting addictions. We're promoting this. That's not true," said State Senator James.

What they hope to promote is an environment of transparency and safety.

"You don't put in a fire extinguisher saying it's okay to burn down the place. It's just a safety precaution, and so is an OAK box," said Savanna Kawleski, East Troy High School junior.

Savanna Kawleski is credited with bringing the OAK box to her school as part of a service learning project in which she even had to go before the school board.

"Super happy that this is in and that, like, it's going to be making a difference in, hopefully a chance in people's lives," said Kawleski.

"And to have a preventative measure within our school that students can access, and the community can access if needed, and that can save a life was something that our school board was in support of," said Stacey Kuehn, principal at East Troy High School.

A handful of high schools in the Milwaukee area have already installed Narcan boxes thanks to the Love Logan Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative, impressing on students that fentanyl is a huge unknown, and taking any drug, unless it's from your pharmacist, is like playing Russian roulette.

"Kids make mistakes. Narcan gives kids a second chance," said Rachwal.

Organizers say they're just tired of hearing story after story of parents losing their children to poisonings and overdoses and they hope that this will help.