Editorial of January 25, 2024
One Box To Save Many
Editor’s Note: On Friday, January 19, the Oneonta Narcan Initiative Team and LEAF Council on Alcoholism and Addictions distributed the first opioid/naloxone emergency boxes in New York State. The purple ONEbox™ is an emergency opioid overdose reversal kit designed to save lives in what has become a growing epidemic. Geoffrey Doyle opened up the press conference with the following address. We are pleased to share his inspiring words with our readers.
Good morning. My name is Geoffrey Doyle and I am the executive director here at Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center.
It is my pleasure to welcome you all here this morning for the announcement and unveiling of an innovative, lifesaving tool. One that will soon be recognizable and accessible to [Otsego County] residents. And through the continued, concerted efforts of the likeminded, community-conscious individuals and organizations represented here today, these unassuming, meticulously-arranged boxes will also become recognizable and accessible within innumerable communities throughout the country. Resulting in hundreds of thousands of lives being saved.
These unassuming, meticulously-arranged boxes you see before you are what are known as ONEboxes. And each of the 60 ONEboxes on this table has the power to save a life in 60 seconds. In fact, these particular boxes currently have the potential to save four lives each. That’s 240 human beings who could have a second chance; 240 human beings who could be given an opportunity to overcome misfortune and unfortunate circumstances; 240 human beings whose lives will be saved. Whose lives are WORTH saving.
The opioid epidemic has likely affected everyone here today in some way. Some have overcome their own personal struggles, and in many cases, have had to witness the devastation of opioid addiction in those closest to us. Our friends. Our families. Our loved ones. And I can tell you from experience that when it’s your friend, your family member, your loved one, you are willing to do just about anything you can to save them. And every human being, every person who has fallen victim to opioid addiction, is someone’s friend, someone’s family member, someone’s loved one. And with that perspective, with that knowledge, and a little empathy, are we not explicitly called to do what we can to save the lives of those who are strangers to us? To help the loved ones of others? And that’s what these unassuming, meticulously-arranged ONEboxes provide us the chance to do.
Of course, the naloxone contained in these ONEboxes isn’t a cure for opioid addiction. If only it were that simple. But what these boxes contain is the potential for that second chance. That opportunity to have a rude awakening. A wakeup call. And subsequently, a desire to embrace the reclamation of life. To have that realization, that there can be LIFE after addiction. That there CAN be recovery.
The ONEbox™, in combination with public awareness and destigmatization, provides those opportunities for recovery. And I’m proud to be a part of this little city, this micropolitan—which is what the wonderful Julie Dostal tells me Oneonta is classified as. I’m proud to be a part of Oneonta, where there are people like Kathy Varadi, who has spearheaded this initiative since day one, where there are a number of supportive businesses, politicians, and individuals who see the value in second chances, in the opportunity for recovery, and in the reclamation of life. Thank you.