TAMPA, Fla. — The Cuban Club in Ybor City is an old building full of history, but inside these walls — mounted on them — is something new. Something that could save lives.
Tiffany Bolt, the club’s sales manager, is a big believer of what’s inside this box: everything you need, including Narcan, to quickly reverse the often-fatal effects of an opioid like fentanyl.
“When I showed the bartenders the Narcan information, it was so easy. It was a 30-second video, and they thanked me for having the boxes here,” she said. “Addiction doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter what your status is in the community. It doesn’t matter if you have a college degree or if you don’t.”
WATCH NOW: Nonprofit makes push to prevent opioid overdoses ahead of busy weekend
Two of the life-saving boxes are now on hand at the Cuban Club, thanks to the work of Live Tampa Bay, a local coalition fighting the opioid overdose epidemic.
“The truth is that we’ve made great strides. We’ve reduced the overall number of deaths and the non-fatal overdoses,” said Jennifer Webb, the CEO.
However, there’s still work to do, which is why, over the past few weeks, she and her team have canvassed Ybor City, downtown Gulfport, New Port Richey, and Main Street Sarasota to make sure businesses have the training, supplies, and Narcan to respond to opioid overdoses.
The push was made ahead of a busy weekend of events that are expected to attract thousands of tourists and locals.
“We see spikes that correspond with festivals,” said Webb. “We have the Metallica concert and the Rays game over here in Tampa. There are Pride festivals over in St. Pete and across the Tampa Bay community.”
Linda Parsons, an outreach coordinator with Live Tampa Bay, has been doing a lot of the canvassing in Ybor City. Over the past few weeks, she has visited a large number of restaurants and bars.
“We have been welcomed with zero resistance,” Parsons said.
Parsons hopes that trend will continue, because the current effort is just the start. Live Tampa Bay hopes to hand out 365 more of the life-saving boxes over the next 365 days.
The effort is made possible thanks to state grants and donations from community members.
If you’d like these life-saving supplies at your business, contact Live Tampa Bay by visiting the nonprofit’s website or emailing Live Tampa Bay at chair@livetampabay.org.
