El Paso’s Desert Spoon Food Hub marks 10 years, founded by mom and daughters<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cSo what we have heard is that fentanyl is big around campuses, not just campuses around the city,\u201d Tavares said. \u201cIt could be unintentionally laced with fentanyl, sometimes intentional. But having the naloxone vending machine here can smash some of that stigma and save a life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The machine is designed to be simple to use. Users enter a number, and a box containing two doses of naloxone is dispensed. Tavares described how naloxone can be administered in an emergency.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou insert it into their nose if you suspect they are having an overdose,\u201d she said. \u201cYou spray it. You spray the first one. And if they don\u2019t, if they\u2019re not responsive, you wait two to three minutes and you use the other unit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tavares added, \u201cIt\u2019s easy if you\u2019re not having an opioid overdose. It\u2019s not bad for you. It\u2019s safe to use on babies, kids, adults, anybody. Even your pets.\u201d<\/p>\n
The installation comes as first responders continue to handle overdose cases across El Paso, though recent response numbers show a downward trend.<\/p>\n
Data from the El Paso Fire Department shows crews responded to 968 overdose incidents in 2023. That number dropped to 653 responses in 2024 and 450 in 2025. So far this year, the department has recorded 64 overdose responses.<\/p>\n
El Paso Police Department data shows officers were dispatched to 276 overdose calls in 2023, 147 in 2024 and 120 last year. So far in 2026, police have responded to 25 cases.<\/p>\n
Tavares said programs expanding access to naloxone are part of why some numbers are trending down.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo here in El Paso County, opioid overdose deaths have declined by 26%,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd so it went from 220 opioid overdose deaths to 163. And I believe it\u2019s because of programs like the ones that I offer.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the National Institute of Health, some opponents of free Narcan nationwide worry that making naloxone more available could encourage drug use. Tavares said that belief is misguided.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that\u2019s a thing that sometimes people say, but I think being aware and admitting that this is something that happens, people are using drugs,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd why not be prepared to prevent a death when it\u2019s readily available and it\u2019s free.\u201d<\/p>\n
Organizers said the machine is already being used and has had to be refilled multiple times in the first few weeks since it was installed.<\/p>\n
Students on campus said the discreet access could make a difference in an emergency. UTEP student Shalani Richard said, \u201cI think it gets rid of the taboo of the potential for a jev-over-dose and gives students a free resource to protect each other themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard added, \u201cYou never know when someone\u2019s going through something and the fact that it\u2019s so discreet can help a lot of people actually take the step to help themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tavares said the vending machine is just one part of a broader effort to expand access to naloxone at UTEP. The organization is also working with the university to install about 70 naloxone storage cabinets throughout buildings near existing defibrillators, with the goal of making the medication as easy to find as other emergency equipment.<\/p>\n
Sign up<\/a> to receive the top interesting stories from in and around our community once daily in your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 Students at the University of Texas at El Paso now have free, anonymous…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":208756,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-208783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/208756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}