Save a Life Day events will be hosted Sept. 26 in Lansford and Tamaqua, in addition to more than 300 other sites east of the Mississippi River and beyond.

Volunteers will give out free naloxone, a nasal spray containing a medication that reverses opioid overdoses. The formerly prescription-only drug became available over-the-counter in 2023.

“Save a Life Day is about more people feeling like they can be a part of the work of healing their communities,” said Sarah Stone, co-director of SOAR WV, an overdose prevention group based in West Virginia, which is spearheading the multistate distribution. “Everybody can pick up naloxone on Save a Life Day.”

The Save a Life Day events are designed to be in high-traffic, outdoor locations to be able to reach as many people as possible, organizers said. Sites also include churches, clinics, libraries, colleges, recovery homes, gas stations, fire departments, grocery stores and parks.

“The idea isn’t to get people to come to you, but to meet people where they are,” said Joe Solomon, co-director of SOAR WV.

Volunteers will be the Panther Valley Mini-Mall on West Ridge Street in Lansford and Hope & Coffee on Pine Street in Tamaqua from noon to 2 p.m.

All attendees will receive one naloxone kit, in-person training and information on local resources. Training takes as little as five to 10 minutes.

“As the state organizer for Pennsylvania for the second year, River Lotus Recovery is grateful to have the opportunity to provide necessary resources to end the stigma around substance use disorder and bring hope to individuals and their family for recovery,” said Heather Barna-Dowling, owner. “We believe recovery is a community event and as long as there is breath there is home for recovery.”