Naloxone and the Minutes That Matter
In 2020, Rockland County recorded 236 overdoses. Thirty-three people died. Buried in that same data is a number that says almost everything about why Harmonious Hearts exists: among the people who survived, 136 out of 203 — about two in three — had been given naloxone before help arrived. Among the 33 who died, only 6 had.
That's not a coincidence. It's what naloxone is built to do.
What naloxone actually does
Naloxone (the medicine inside a Narcan kit) works by blocking the effects of opioids in the brain, reversing an overdose in progress. According to the CDC, it can restore normal breathing within two to three minutes of being administered — often before EMS even arrives. It works against the opioids most likely to show up in Rockland County today: heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone, methadone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, and hydromorphone.
It comes in two forms. Most kits distributed by community programs, including ours, use a pre-filled nasal spray — no needle, no assembly, just a spray up one nostril. An injectable version also exists for clinical settings.
The gap between a kit in someone's pocket and a kit that was never there is measured in minutes — and in Rockland's own numbers, it was the difference for dozens of families.
Why "just in case" is the right instinct
One of the most persistent myths about naloxone is that giving it to someone who isn't actually overdosing on opioids could hurt them. It won't. The CDC is explicit on this point: naloxone will not harm a person if they turn out not to be experiencing an opioid overdose, and it's safe to use on anyone from infants to older adults. If you're not sure, the safe move is always to give it.
The protocol is simple, and it's exactly what we teach in every training session we run:
- Call 911 first, or have someone else call while you act.
- Give one dose of naloxone.
- Wait 2–3 minutes. If breathing hasn't returned to normal, give a second dose.
- Stay with the person, and keep them on their side if they're breathing on their own, until emergency responders arrive.
Naloxone buys time. It isn't the whole plan.
Naloxone reverses opioid effects, but it doesn't address other substances that are increasingly mixed into the drug supply, like xylazine — which is one reason we hand out test strips alongside every kit, not instead of one. Naloxone, a test strip, and knowing not to use alone are three separate layers of the same plan: getting someone to the next minute.
A free Narcan kit and a 20-minute training session are both available at no cost through Harmonious Hearts, anywhere in Rockland County. You don't need a reason, and you don't need to explain why you want one.