To Stop Fentanyl Deaths, Knocking on Doors and Handing Out Overdose Kits

By Nicole Leonard | WHYY | KFF Health News | Word In Black (WIB) – On a narrow street lined with row houses and an auto body shop in the Kensington neighborhood of North Philadelphia, Marsella Elie climbs a home’s front steps and knocks hard on the door. A middle-aged man appears with a wary look on his face. RELATED:& ‘Fourth Wave’ of Opioid Epidemic Propelled by Fentanyl and Meth “Hello, sir, how are you doing today?” asked Elie, wearing a royal-blue jacket embroidered with the city government’s Liberty Bell logo. “My name is Marsella. I’m working with the city. You heard about the overdoses that are going around in the neighborhood, right?” The man gives a cautious nod. Elie gestures to the pamphlets she’s holding about drug overdoses and addiction treatment programs. She holds up a box of Narcan, a brand of naloxone, which can reverse an opioid overdose. “What we’re trying to do is get this in everybody’s household. Have you ever heard of this before?” Elie asked before handing the man a tote bag filled with more pamphlets, fentanyl test strips, and the box of Narcan. Elie and other part-time city workers and volunteers are part of...