In a news landscape that is becoming bleaker by the day, for anyone interested in justice, equity and care for our fellow humans, I give you a shining example of community activism that resulted in a big win for Oak Park.
On Sept. 30, the last day of National Recovery Month, the West Side Heroin/Opioid Task Force (WSHOTF) hosted its final “Stop of Hope” celebration at the CTA Green Line/Metra Station. The lively event featured a dozen human service organizations set up at tables throughout the station, and free hot dogs and hamburgers grilled to perfection by the WSHOTF Street Outreach Team.
The excitement centered on a new vending machine in the station — one that solely dispenses free Narcan, the nasal spray antidote for an opioid overdose. But the real story was the unflagging efforts of a small team of advocates and bureaucrats who worked for nearly two years to launch the “Narcan on the CTA” pilot program.
There are four more machines, located across three other train lines (Blue Line/Jefferson Park stop; Pink Line/Central Park stop; Red Line/Wilson and 47th Street stops). Each had a “Stop of Hope” launch led by local harm-reduction advocates.
Village President Vicki Scaman spoke at the press conference, which also featured state representatives LaShawn K. Ford and Camille Lilly. Vicki gave statistics for opioid overdoses in Oak Park, and a shout-out to Oak Park’s Public Health Department, which runs the Opioid Overdose Prevention Project for the village.
Vicki also mentioned my son, David Haennicke, whom she knew when she worked at the Steckman School of Music. David passed away from an opioid overdose on the CTA in late 2021 at the age of 29. It wasn’t the CTA’s fault — the employee who found David, still breathing, immediately called 911. But in the 5 minutes that elapsed between that call and first responders reaching David, he passed away.
As a way to cope with my grief, I brought the seed of an idea — getting Narcan onto CTA trains or at least on train platforms — to the WSHOTF. The idea blossomed in the receptive “soil” of the group, which has worked for years to reduce drug overdoses through strong partnerships with public and private organizations.
It took 23 months of emails, conversations, follow-up, more follow-up, two direct appeals to the CTA board and the heroic efforts of leaders at the CTA and Cook County to get the five machines installed for what will be a 6-month pilot program.
Please visit the machine at the Green Line station. Opioid overdoses happen in our community, but also in our homes, where an elder may overtake their pain medication, or a child may accidentally get hold of a pill. Narcan is as easy to use as Flonase, and safe for all. Each box has detailed instructions.
It may seem a small thing to rejoice over a vending machine in a dim, bunker-like train station, but to me that machine is a beacon of hope in our very troubled world.
Sheila Haennicke is a longtime Oak Park resident.