Santa Barbara County Behavioral Wellness to distribute free Narcan kits to combat opioid epidemic

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. -- The Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness will be distributing free Narcan kits, or opioid overdose reversal kits, in Lompoc on Feb. 25 as part of its fight against the opioid epidemic.

The kits will be handed out at 646 North H Street in Lompoc from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., or until supplies last, according to Behavioral Wellness spokeswoman Suzanne Grimmesey.

Over 100,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year, and 75% of those deaths were from opioid overdoses, according to Grimmesey.

The Department of Behavioral Wellness has distributed thousands of Narcan kits that have resulted in over 1,500 overdose reversals, Grimmesey said.

"The Department of Behavioral Wellness has been hard at work with collaborating community providers, developing interventions to save lives from opioid overdose," Grimmesey said.

The Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) program has also been expanded in Santa Barbara County, providing FDA-approved medications that ease withdrawal symptoms to people who suffer from opioid use disorder, she added.

Some key providers offering the MAT services include Bridge Clinics of Cottage and. Marian Hospitals, the Public Health Department, Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, and a partnership between CenCal and the Sheriff's Department.

The Behavioral Wellness Alcohol and Drug Programs has established two office-based buprenorphine initiation clinics to provide withdrawal and stabilization services to people with heroin and fentanyl addictions.