LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On a rainy morning in Louisville, Ashley Banta and Bennett Becherer were setting up a tent along Taylor Boulevard.

As prevention specialists with the HEALing Communities Study through the University of Kentucky, they were hoping to reach as many people as they could with the overdose-reversing drug Narcan.

What You Need To Know

  • The goal of the HEALing Communities Study through UK is to reduce opioid overdose deaths by 40% over three years

  • Ashley Banta is a prevention specialist

  • She distributes the overdose-reversing drug Narcan and trains the public on how to administer it

  • Banta has been in recovery since 2018

“It’s very important because we have a horrible, horrible addiction rate, overdose rates, and so if we can do anything, it’s give Narcan to our communities,” said Banta. “A lot of people think that it’s not a good thing, that it’s encouraging people, but in reality, it’s the best thing that we can do.”

The 2022 Overdose Fatality Report released earlier this month shows 2,135 Kentuckians died from a drug overdose last year.

The goal of the HEALing Communities Study is to reduce opioid overdose deaths by 40% over three years.

Banta began using drugs after losing her first baby, and was in addiction for eight years, she said.

Every time she hands out Narcan, she thinks about the woman who was like a stepsister to her, who could have been saved by it.

“I had no idea that she was even overdosing … for six hours, and then I called the ambulance and they said that she had overdosed and so that was a tough time … but it still didn’t stop me from using,” said Banta. “It actually got worse after that.”

When Banta ended up in the hospital during another pregnancy, she got on Suboxone, and has been in recovery since 2018, she said.  

“I’m a big advocate for MOUDs—medications for opioid use disorder—and so I’m very active in the community,” said Banta. “I speak now at events and I’m being asked, and that makes you feel good. So about three years ago, I bought my own home. I’d never owned anything in my entire life … I got married and bought my own home.”

Banta said she puts her trauma and pain into helping others, and twice now, she’s used Narcan to save someone’s life.

Every week, as part of the effort that’s reached 16 Kentucky counties, she encourages others to learn about and carry Narcan, hoping more people can be lifesavers, too.

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