Community voices help shape next chapter of Well Wayne Stations initiative

The Well Wayne Stations (WWS) initiative launched in 2024 as a partnership between the Wayne County Department of Health, Human & Veterans Services (WCHHVS) and the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice (CBHJ) at Wayne State's School of Social Work. The multi-year initiative expands low-barrier access to free naloxone (Narcan) and drug checking supplies through placement of public health vending machines and newsstand-style devices in Wayne County. The goal is to reduce overdose deaths and drug-related harms and ensure all Wayne County residents have access to these lifesaving supplies.

While Wayne County experienced a meaningful 43% decline in overdose deaths in 2024, it continues to experience the highest number of overdose deaths in Michigan, with local communities impacted in different ways, including widening disparities, particularly among older, Black men. With an increasingly lethal and adulterated drug supply, individuals may not know they are at risk for overdose when using substances, emphasizing the need for targeted and aligned community-wide approaches that help support public awareness of overdose risks, prevention and response measures, and those that make lifesaving naloxone (Narcan) free and easily accessible, especially among communities most impacted. Preventing overdose deaths through evidence-based strategies, like the distribution of free naloxone (Narcan), remains a public health priority in Wayne County.

"Deepening collaboration with community and systems partners remains a key priority of the Well Wayne Stations initiative", said Tara King, Community Behavioral Health Administrator, WCHHVS. "While the recent decline in overdose deaths is an encouraging sign, there is more work to be done. Ongoing efforts to increase awareness of naloxone, impact stigma, and reduce overdose disparities, are critical. As we move forward, the intentional use of data-alongside insights from community partners and individuals with lived experience-will help strengthen efforts to reach communities most impacted."

Efforts thus far have focused on increasing county-wide access to lifesaving health supplies, through placement of devices in nearly all Wayne County municipalities. To date, the Well Wayne Stations initiative has placed 95 devices, including 30 public health vending machines and 65 newsstand-style devices, across Wayne County with over 80% of devices positioned in ZIP codes most impacted by overdose.

Collaboration with community partners has been central to the initiative, prioritizing engagement across different sectors and communities to establish diverse "host sites" for devices. Well Wayne Stations are located at entities including but not limited to convenience stores, pharmacies, public libraries, food distribution centers, hotels and motels, and social services organizations. Since September 2024, the initiative has distributed 36,024 naloxone kits, 12,458 fentanyl testing strip kits, and 8,178 xylazine testing strip kits.

In the third year of implementation, HHVS and CBHJ remain committed to data-driven and community-informed approaches to address local health disparities, doubling down on equitable access and community collaboration, with a priority to increase low-barrier access to naloxone (Narcan) in local communities most impacted by overdose.

"Up until this point, we've really focused on increasing geographic access to naloxone and drug checking supplies throughout the county," said Parker Tomkinson, treatment ecosystems manager at CBHJ. "Now we're using overdose data, community feedback and local insights to make more informed decisions about where devices can have the greatest impact."

In collaboration with WCHHVS, the CBHJ team used a mixed methods approach to develop a health equity-driven framework, ensuring that naloxone is accessible in areas where it is needed most. The framework includes quantitative analysis of local and state overdose data, geographic analysis of distribution devices, and analysis of supply distribution data. Focus groups and interviews conducted with distinct participant groups including people with lived/living experience (PWLE), existing host sites and community members, first responders and dispatchers, and local harm reductionists provide valuable insights into areas of need and barriers to access throughout Wayne County. The aim is not only to supply naloxone (Narcan) in areas where someone is likely to witness an overdose, but to move Wayne County communities closer to naloxone saturation; when enough naloxone is distributed in an area that it is available whenever an overdose occurs.

"Quantitative data can tell us a lot, but it doesn't tell the whole story," Tomkinson said. "The perspectives of people living and working in communities throughout Wayne County are crucial to understanding where resources are most needed. Those voices help ensure we're placing supplies in locations that are accessible and meaningful to the people who may need them."

Visit endoverdosewayne.org to find Well Wayne Station locations as well as other harm reduction resources, including instructions on how to identify and respond to an overdose, how to administer naloxone (Narcan), and how to use drug testing strips.

About the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice

The Center for Behavioral Health and Justice at the Wayne State University School of Social Work delivers actionable data, person‐centered research and evaluation, and collaborative technical assistance at the behavioral health/criminal legal intersection to empower community partners to adopt high‐impact care solutions. We envision a society that prevents, deflects, and diverts people with behavioral health concerns from the criminal legal continuum to appropriate care settings as a means to optimize individual and community wellbeing.

About the Wayne County Department of Health, Human & Veterans Services

The Wayne County Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services (HHVS) promotes health and enhances the wellbeing of all Wayne County residents through programs, policies, and partnerships that address gaps in access and opportunity for health across all stages of life.