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Cost and paperwork keep a lot of people away from overdose reversal medication. A distribution box in Terre Haute, Indiana removes both.
Free naloxone and fentanyl test strips are available there around the clock, from an outdoor box anyone can access without an appointment, identification, insurance, or explanation.
The treatment facility hosting the box partnered with Overdose Lifeline, the nonprofit that supplied it. The announcement came ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31, during a month-long push on overdose prevention.
What the Box Provides at No Cost
Two things, both free. Naloxone is the opioid overdose reversal medication most people know by the brand name Narcan. During an opioid overdose, opioids slow or stop breathing.
Naloxone temporarily blocks opioids at receptors in the brain, which helps restore breathing. It works on any opioid, including fentanyl, heroin, and prescription opioids.
Its effects are temporary. Emergency medical help is still necessary after naloxone is given, every time, without exception.
Fentanyl test strips let someone check a substance for fentanyl before using it. Both items sit in the same outdoor box, available at any hour.
Who Qualifies for Free Naloxone
Everyone. That is the point of the model. There is no eligibility screening, no income verification, no insurance check, and no intake conversation.
The box is outdoors and anonymous by design, which is what distinguishes it from pharmacy or clinic distribution where a person has to speak to someone.
That design targets a specific barrier. Shame and fear of judgment stop people from asking for naloxone at a counter, and those are the same people most likely to witness an overdose.
“Sometimes people are not ready to stop yet, so if they are going to be using, we want them to be as safe as possible,” said Lora Nesting, a peer recovery specialist. “Preventing an overdose can give someone the chance to seek recovery when they are ready.”
Why Indiana Still Needs Low-Cost Overdose Tools
Indiana’s numbers have been moving in the right direction. Overdose deaths in the state have declined every year since peaking in 2021.
The remaining total is still substantial. Indiana ranked 16th in the nation by total overdose deaths in 2025. Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 1,395 overdose deaths in the state, and 838 of those, roughly 60 percent, involved opioids.
How Naloxone Access Connects to Treatment
Harm reduction and treatment are not competing approaches. Keeping someone alive is what makes treatment possible later.
Corey Coogan spent years trying to get sober before surviving an overdose. “Narcan saved my life. I wouldn’t be here today without it,” she said.
She went on to complete an outpatient program, and now has nine months of continuous sobriety, works full time, is active in a 12-step program, and is putting herself through cosmetology school.
“Naloxone provides a critical window of time during an opioid overdose, but someone has to have it nearby and know how to use it,” said Dr. Michael Kane, chief medical officer at the facility.
Finding Free and Low-Cost Rehabs in Indiana
If you or someone close to you needs treatment from substance addiction and cost is the obstacle, several options exist beyond private pay.
Check whether you qualify for Indiana Medicaid, which covers substance use treatment including outpatient care and medication for opioid use disorder.
If you are uninsured, ask any program directly about sliding scale fees, scholarship beds, and state-funded treatment slots, since many facilities have them but do not advertise them.
Rehabs.org lists free and low-cost treatment options nationwide, searchable by state and payment type. Call
800-914-7089
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to speak with a treatment specialist today.
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