Butler County Drug & Alcohol will be distributing more than 500 Narcan kits to agencies working with people who may overdose.

Donna Jenereski, director of Drug & Alcohol, said most of the 540 kits, which will provide 1,080 uses, will be given to various agencies.

“Within their own budgets, they don't have the money,” she said.

The county is determining the allotments for the kits.

Jenereski said the funding for the kits, which cost $75 each from Adapt Pharma, comes from the state Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.

She expects the kits to arrive within a week, she said. They will be distributed shortly thereafter.

Jenereski said the plan is to replenish the kits.

“This, hopefully, will not be the last time,” she said.

Joyce Ainsworth, director of county human services, said it's vital to have the means to resuscitate someone who overdosed.

“Having personally seen individuals reversed on Narcan and then progress into recovery, I fully support this as a life-saving method, much like a defibrillator for heart attacks,” Ainsworth said.

She pointed out substance abuse treatment is a fraction of the cost of heart surgery, even if it happens multiple times.

“We have lost too many of our sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, to not do everything we can to stop this epidemic,” Ainsworth said.