San Mateo County installs purple Narcan boxes to help prevent overdose deaths: Here's how it works

SAN MATEO COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- San Mateo County is taking a new approach to reduce the number of overdose deaths using something similar to old newspaper boxes.

Those boxes don't contain newspapers; instead, they contain naloxone, also known as Narcan - the drug that can reverse overdoses.

"We want to get it into the hands of everybody and we also want people to know this is now a medication that needs to be in your first aid kit just like a Band-Aid, you never know when you're going to need it," said Dr. Ronni Brown with San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services.

Health officials purchased 21 purple boxes to be distributed throughout the county, including at the Redwood City Transit Center, a major hub for SamTrans buses and people experiencing homelessness.

"We've had multiple overdoses here. This is a station that has a lot of lived-in experienced users, people experiencing homelessness. We have a lot of kids that come here," said Omar Brown, acting deputy director of safety and security for SamTrans.

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Danielle Ossley, who is unhoused, believes access to Narcan will make a huge impact.

"I've saved lives with Narcan. If they are changing the way the box is it's probably better that people know about it," explains Ossley.

Each purple box holds up to 72 free Narcan doses with instructions on how to use them.

"By having these stand boxes present, nobody has to ask or go behind a counter to be able to access it," Brown said.

In San Francisco, there are more places offering Narcan, but there is usually an interaction with someone. In San Mateo County, it's grab-and-go.

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"Our goal here at the district is to prevent or stop overdoses, so if someone wants to take 20, that's 20 more kids out there on the streets that could prevent an overdose from happening," Brown said.

The money comes from legal settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors.

The majority of SamTrans bus drivers and staff are trained in how to use Narcan.

"It really helps out. It cuts the time of having to wait for first responders," Brown said.

San Mateo County has had its share of accidental overdoses, with 2021 being the worst year at 120 deaths. The county says Narcan is partly responsible for fewer deaths in 2024, when 54 people died. San Francisco had 635 that same year.

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In San Francisco, when people receive Narcan, staff ask when they last used it and what they did with the previous dose. Officials say that helps track how many overdoses have been reversed.

San Mateo County says by placing the boxes at transit centers, the grab-and-go model means every time a person gets on a bus, they may be transporting Narcan to other parts of the Bay Area.