Safe Stations

• Across Santa Cruz County you can go to any fire department 24/7 and access free Narcan/naloxone, substance use treatment, and recovery services information.
• Narcan is a safe medication that reverses opioid overdoses

Asking for Narcan and information will not get you in trouble, it will only get you help.

• Fentanyl is now found in all sorts of drugs such as meth, cocaine, and pills. 
• An opioid overdose can happen anytime, anywhere, to anyone.

Through the collaborative efforts of SOSA our fire department partners have been increasingly engaging in opioid overdose prevention. Our fire departments started by educating patients and families about overdose and Narcan and providing free Narcan when they were at emergency calls.

We then created a treat and refer program, when EMS personnel arrive at a scene with suspected or confirmed drug use, EMS is able to refer their patients to treatment services. EMS works with HOPE’s peer navigators, which leads to referrals to different programs, in some cases same day treatment with either Mariposa Community Health Center or Community Medical Services’ MAT programs, or referrals to detox/rehabilitation programs.

As a way to increase access to information and Narcan, our fire departments have volunteered to become 24/7 distribution sites. Safe stations are a creative way to be accessible to our community!