Gary residents lined up at Bantam Market early on Sept. 25 as part of Save a Life Day, a national effort verified to have reached every U.S. state and all 55 West Virginia counties. The event, confirmed through WVNS 59 News reporting on Gary activities, distributed free naloxone kits and provided overdose prevention education at local tables staffed by Southern Highlands Community Mental Health Center, recovering addicts and community volunteers between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., with additional outreach in Welch and other McDowell County locations.

Organizers describe the day as historically significant because the initiative scaled a model piloted in West Virginia in 2020 into a nationwide action. SOAR WV led coordination across the state, working with the West Virginia Bureau for Behavioral Health and the Office of Drug Control Policy. County organizers had a September 1 deadline to sign up for event support, which included care packages and materials to be distributed at local sites.

The importance of immediate, community-based access to naloxone in McDowell County cannot be overstated. Using 2015 data as a baseline, McDowell ranked in the 98th percentile for drug overdoses per capita, and rural isolation remains a persistent challenge: delayed emergency response times and limited local healthcare infrastructure increase the likelihood that an overdose will be fatal unless someone nearby can administer naloxone promptly. Statewide efforts that include street-level distribution and education aim to bridge that gap.

State-level public health data indicate progress: the West Virginia Department of Human Services attributes a roughly 40 percent reduction in overdose deaths to combined prevention and treatment efforts in recent years, and local outreaches such as Save a Life Day are cited as contributors to that decline. On the ground in Gary, recovery support specialists, including native William “Coty” Long through Family Treatment Court, and Southern Highlands staff set up multiple tables to hand out kits and resources intended to keep naloxone within families and kinship networks where professional help may be hours away.

Despite the day’s momentum, several key metrics remain to be confirmed. Exact counts of naloxone kits distributed in Gary and a county-level assessment of post-event overdose outcomes are not yet publicly available; follow-up reporting and data from the West Virginia Department of Human Services will be necessary to measure the initiative’s direct impact on McDowell’s overdose rate.

The event highlights broader policy and equity questions. Sustained reductions in overdose deaths require continued funding for community distribution programs, expansion of harm reduction services, and investments in rural emergency care capacity. For McDowell County, where social and economic marginalization compounds health risks, locally driven responses—led by people with lived experience and community mental health providers—are central to improving outcomes.

Reporting on Save a Life Day in McDowell County will continue as organizers and state agencies release distribution tallies and as community members share their experiences with the program. Continued attention will be needed to ensure that naloxone access is paired with treatment options, recovery support and long-term strategies to address the underlying drivers of substance use in this Appalachian community.