Samad's House to install 'NaloxBox' stands in Milwaukee for easier access to life-saving resources amid opioid crisis

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- 237. That's the number of drug overdose deaths in Milwaukee County so far this year.

On Saturday, Aug. 24, local nonprofit Samad's House unveiled their latest way to target the opioid epidemic in the area, during a ribbon-cutting of their new behavioral health clinic in the city's Harambee neighborhood.

While it may look like a newspaper stand, the purple block you will start seeing around Milwaukee is called a NaloxBox.

In it, you will find 25 Narcan test kits, 25 fentanyl test strips, and three CPR masks.

The best part? A NaloxBox is accessible to anyone for free.

“If you look around this community, you see a lot of people who are in need of these services, and we want to make sure they have easy access," said Samad's House owner and founder Tahira Malik. “We want to make sure that as they step inside to save a life, that door is open and not locked.”

Samad's House is a sober living home for women who are recovering from substance addiction and abuse.

According to Dr. Mike Totoraitis, the City of Milwaukee Health Commissioner, since 2000, there has been a 500% increase in overdoses in the county among women alone -- with an overwhelming number of those in the Black community.

“When we think about mental health and substance use treatment, we have to know that we can’t talk about one without talking about the other," said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. “The journey to recovery may take a few months to get there, but it takes a lifelong to stay on that path.”

Crowley added that he knows personally how tough drug addiction can be.

“Both of my parents growing up, both suffered from drug addiction and both mental health. So, I understand how this can affect not only those who addicted, but how it can affect their loved ones," Crowley said. “But I also understand how access to treatment, how access to services can also make a huge benefit to one’s life.”

Milwaukee Fire Department Chief Aaron Lipski said he and his team are "exhausted from responding to overdoses and losing so many."

“It comes from a need that is horrific and it’s horrific city-wide," Chief Lipski said. 

City leaders added that the NaloxBoxes now join a list of harm reduction strategies and supplies in southeast Wisconsin.

The first NaloxBox will soon be installed across the street from Samad's House's clinic at 2669 N. MLK Jr. Dr.

In 2023, Milwaukee County had a total of 668 drug deaths.