National statistics show that overdose deaths are higher among American Indians than any other population. That’s why Emily’s Hope is working to bring life-saving tools, like Naloxone, to South Dakota reservations.
Four boxes stocked with Naloxone can now be found on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations.
- Oglala Sioux Tribe Building in Pine Ridge
- Buche Foods in Pine Ridge
- Oyate Teca Project in Kyle
- Buche Foods in Mission
Inside each kit you’ll find a tool that can reverse an opioid overdose.
“We deal with a lot of addiction issues. We’ve seen a lot of family friends go over the years, especially last decade really fast with a lot of overdoses,” Bouche Foods manager, Tameka Vocu said.
Vocu is a manager at Buche Foods in Pine Ridge which received a box from Emily’s Hope a few weeks ago.
“Probably just one left in there, that’s at least 139 out the door. So it went a lot quicker than I thought it would,” Vocu said.
“Unfortunately, drugs are a huge issue. And anything that we can do to help save a life, it just is a no-brainer for me,” President of Buche Foods, RF Buche said.
The Oglala Sioux Tribe Building is also now equipped with Narcan.
“We want everyone to have a Naloxone kit in their homes,” Founder of Emily’s Hope, Angela Kennecke, said. “These boxes make it easy for people just to come up, take one for free. They don’t have to answer to anybody about taking one and they can have them on hand.”