Decrease in Overdose Deaths Shows Value of Save-A-Life Stations 
(Chelsea Bossert, April 19, 2025)
Troy, MI — The Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities (The Alliance,) announced recently that preliminary data for Oakland County from Jan. to July 2024 showed a 26.1% reduction in overdose fatalities compared to 2023 in that time period, and a 19.7% reduction in non-fatal overdoses, compared to 2023.
While this set of preliminary data is a good starting point, the full set of data paints a much more complete picture. In the full calendar year of 2024, compared to 2023, there has been a 37.6% percent reduction in fatal overdoses, and an equally as promising 13.3% reduction in non-fatal overdoses as well.
The reason for these shrinking figures? According to The Alliance, it is due to a life-saving overdose prevention drug, Naloxone (a.k.a. NARCAN) being widely available and uniquely distributed in Oakland County through SAVE-A-LIFE stations.
Oakland County Times sat down with Steve Norris, Director of Overdose Prevention and Recovery Support at The Alliance, where he explained how the numbers went down through The Alliance’s collaborative efforts, who The Alliance is and why this issue should matter to residents of Oakland County.
“The Alliance of Coalitions is an umbrella company, we have 21 different preventive coalitions across Oakland County. They deal with everything from alcohol to nicotine to marijuana in the schools, drug prevention education, misuse of prescription pills — so on and so forth,” Norris said. “We are the overdose education and Naloxone distributor for all of Oakland County.”
Naloxone or NARCAN, according to their official website, is “a pure opioid antagonist indicated for emergency use to reverse known or suspected opioid overdose, as manifested by respiratory and/or severe central nervous system depression.”
One would use Naloxone while someone is experiencing a fatal or non-fatal overdose — according to a guide put out by University of California Davis Health, simply remove it from its packaging, insert the tip of the nasal spray in the person’s nose, and push on the plunger. This simple act can potentially save a life.
This life saving medicine is often out of reach or inaccessible to those who are in the midst of an opioid overdose, but Norris and his team at The Alliance have developed a solution that works for the community. The Alliance uses “SAVE-A-LIFE” stations methodically placed throughout Oakland County.
The stations are placed in convenient spots in the area where the medication is easily accessible.
“We went from about a distribution of a little under 700 doses of Narcan a month to over 5000 doses a month throughout the county because of that increased access to that reversal agent,” Norris said.
These SAVE-A-LIFE stations include Naloxone (a.k.a. Narcan,) testing strips for fentanyl and xylazine, as well as safety guides.
An interactive map of where the stations are located throughout Oakland County and beyond can be found at alliancemi.org/overdose-prevention/save-a-life-stations/.
Using evidence-based practice In order to achieve their goals, The Alliance holds a meeting once a month where they review overdose cases and collaborate with Oakland County health officials, in order to see where treatment and prevention can improve in the area.
“We’re looking at all this information that’s available to us, whether it’s through our HIDA partners, DEA, law enforcement, epidemiologist, medical examiner, to really understand the scope of where drugs are being used, how it’s being used in our community, so that we can target that information to those areas specifically and make sure that we’re highly effective in the way that we disseminate information and materials,” Norris said.
This program and these procedures have produced incredible results for the county, however, not everybody knows someone who is struggling with these issues directly, so why should these findings affect them?
“Let’s just answer in the most simplest form, that human life is precious, and every life is worth investing time and energy into,” Norris said. “The impact that they have when they’re in the midst of their struggle, and the way that affects locally, their families and their communities is absolutely devastating.”
This issue of drug overdoses and substance abuse within the local community is one that is very personal to Norris, who struggled with addiction in the past. “I was addicted to a lot of things, including opiates, for a long period of time, until I was 40. I found sobriety. At the age of 40, I dedicated my life to not only my own recovery journey, but also the service of other people,” Norris said.
The job is not done. SAVE-A-LIFE stations and the use of Naloxone has become widespread thanks to groups like The Alliance’s tactics. According to a pair of 2024 online surveys by Jacobson and Powell, looking at both the general population and those who have or currently are experiencing opioid addiction, 46.2% of the first group of people surveyed “reported having heard of naloxone and correctly identified it as a drug to reduce opioid overdoses.”
And for those who have experienced opioid addiction, according to the second survey: “60.5% reported carrying naloxone.” This drug saves lives, and in Oakland County, The Alliance’s mission to reduce deaths and overdoses through this preventative measure is working. Although the Oakland County overdose data is not yet fully reviewed and complete county-by- county data does not seem to be available yet, this reduction is a very promising trend that The Alliance, recovery communities and Oakland County at-large hopes to continue into 2025.
Learn more about the Alliance, including local groups and locations for Save-A-Life Stations at The Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities website at https://alliancemi.org/.
