BROOKFIELD, Wis. — Addiction is an issue that has affected thousands of families throughout Wisconsin.
Jessica Geschke is the president of Start Healing Now and the creator of the Overdose Aid Kit or the OAK box. Inside of the box is information on how to administer Narcan, breathing masks and other resources on the opioid epidemic.
Geschke’s dedication to spreading awareness across the state started following a family member’s overdose.
“My children experienced a situation where they experienced a family member overdosing on opioids,” said Geschke.
Geschke said when the incident happened, she and her children did not have the resources needed to help their family member.
“Because of that, I wanted to ensure that I could get Narcan whenever I needed it and other people in our community could get Narcan when they needed it,” said Geschke.
In 2022, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported that 1,421 people died from opioid-related overdoses.
Nearly 27,000 lives have been saved by Narcan kits throughout the U.S. from 1996 to 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Geschke is playing her part by partnering with organizations and businesses around Wisconsin to get OAK boxes on job sites and at workplaces.
“Let’s get Narcan, let’s flood it throughout the state, let’s put it in places where they don’t have to be judged and they can just go in and get it,” said Geschke.
Geschke recently partnered with Hunzinger Construction to get OAK boxes on one of their job sites.
“We saw this as another opportunity to have something on site in the event of an emergency, an unforeseen condition alongside our first aid kit and AED kits,” said Jon Sheahan, senior project manager for Hunzinger Construction.
He said he hopes to have OAK boxes on all of his job sites.
“The construction industry as a whole struggles with mental health and suicide rates are high in our industry and along with that can come drug addiction,” said Sheahan.
According to the CDC, construction has one of the highest suicide rates out of all industries, at 53.2 suicides per 100,000 workers.
While Sheahan has experienced no overdoses on his job sites, he said it is better to be prepared in case a situation occurs.
“We thought it was a good fit for our safety program that we have on all of our job sites,” said Sheahan.