MIDDLEBURY — Addison County is about to become only the third county in the state to host outdoor vending machines dispensing naloxone — a medication that rapidly reverses the effects of opioid overdose.

Turning Point Center of Addison County (TPCAC) has landed an approximately $100,000 state grant that will enable the nonprofit to acquire two such vending machines. Though specific spots have yet to be finalized, plans call for one of the machines for Middlebury and the other in Vergennes, both by this fall.

Nalaxone is an opioid antagonist, which binds with opioid receptors in the human nervous system to rapidly reverse the effects of an overdose. It can be administered through injection but is most commonly delivered through a nasal spray known as Narcan, which is the product the two Addison County vending machines will offer — for free, according to TPCAC Executive Director Danielle Wallace.

Based in Middlebury, TPCAC is one of 12 peer recovery centers in Vermont that offer support for individuals and their families seeking recovery from substance use disorder and other addictions.

In addition to dispensing Narcan, the climate-controlled machines will offer test strips for both fentanyl and xylazine; sterile water; basic first aid, hygiene and wound-care kits; bleach; cotton; and tourniquets.

The two machines and the products they contain are an acknowledgement that opioid addiction is entrenched in our area and that steps can be taken to minimize deaths associated with substance use disorder, while also offering recovery services to those afflicted.

“The project will transform the landscape of available harm-reduction supplies for our target population by providing these supplies on a 24/7/365 basis to all who need them in the two communities selected for the machines,” reads TPCAC’s successful application for its Vermont Department of Health grant.

“The project is designed to dramatically increase the availability of these products in an effort to stem the overdose rate in Addison County and increase the safety of those engaging in substance misuse.”

TPC officials learned of the grant award last week. The Addison County vending machines will join ones already in place at the Johnson Health Center in Lamoille County and at Greater Bennington Community Services in Bennington County.

Turning Point staff will be tasked with periodically restocking the machines. Officials anticipate the Narcan will be tapped not only by those addicted to opiates, but by the friends and relatives of people at risk of overdosing.

The Department of Health in 2023 distributed 68,827 doses of naloxone to its community partners, who in turn were able to reverse 152 overdoses statewide. Turning Point of Addison County began offering Narcan kits back in 2014, but officials reasoned the substance should be more readily available.

Wallace promised TPC will solicit community input to determine the best locations for the Middlebury and Vergennes vending machines. She said she isn’t concerned at this point about them potentially being vandalized or misused. She said stewards of the Johnson and Bennington vending machines have reported no such problems, as they’ve been placed in highly visible areas and are constantly monitored to help prevent misuse.

“We hope to place them in public spots where they’re easily accessible,” Wallace said.

Those who withdraw items from the Addison County machines will be able to do so anonymously but will be required to punch in a registration number that helps track use of the service, according to Wallace.

“We need to collect data,” Wallace said, citing information on how often the machines are being used, and what products are being used most.

Wallace said she’d eventually like to see TPCAC expand its harm-reduction offerings to incorporate safe syringes and a needle exchange, among other things. But she stressed Turning Point would need special permissions to add those services.

“We’d need to have a medical license or be an HIV/AIDS prevention provider,” she noted, adding “that isn’t out of the question.”

Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].