Another naloxone box is headed to Muncie, aimed to help combat overdose deaths.  As IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports, the life-saving kits are part of a statewide initiative paid for with federal grant money.

IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital’s vending machine is one of 19 statewide. (Provided by IU Health BMH)

There’s a new vending machine coming to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital – but it won’t dispense sweet treats or cool beverages.  Instead, it gives out free naloxone kits.

The medication can reverse an opioid overdose if given soon enough to a person showing overdose symptoms.  The hospital says kits include “a single dose of naloxone, instructions for use, and resource information on treatments for substance use disorder.”

The hospital’s vending machine holds 300 free naloxone kits and is one of nearly 20 being placed across the state.

Read More: Indiana’s first Narcan vending machine installed at St. Joseph County Jail

But this isn’t the first free naloxone box in Muncie.  As part of the same program, small acrylic naloxone boxes were placed in several neighborhoods in late 2021, with more coming.  Currently they can be found:

• Friends Memorial Church, 418 W Adams St.
• Avondale United Methodist Church, 1314 W 10th St.
• Robert Hunt Warming Center, 115 S. Pershing Dr.

Muncie Folk Collective is responsible for the neighborhood boxes.  They hold 10-15 naloxone kits, but are restocked twice a day.  The organization says nearly 800 kits are going out to the Muncie community each month.

Read More: New survey aims to track addiction recovery resources in Indiana

In the state of Indiana for a period covering most of 2021, data shows fatal overdoses increased by 21 percent.