Helper role: “it feels good to have a part in something”
overdose
SAID
Regarding the “People would always come running to us when they would need [Narcan], when people would OD. We actually saved eight or nine, 10 lives. People would OD, we would be the ones to have the Narcan. Everywhere we go, we got Narcan. People we don't know, we have saved their lives with Narcan […] Just because we knew we had it and they didn't.”– Male, County 7One participant shared that her social role as a naloxone carrier was important because “One participant expressed that she had not experienced social obligation in the past:I was a very careless addict. I didn't really care. I was the type of addict on heroin that my friend would overdose in front of me and I would pick their pockets for their dope and not even call an ambulance. So I didn't really care. I didn't feel the need to have it.– Female, County 7Later in the interview, this participant went on to say that several recent life changes (e.g., moving, drug cessation, family loss) had led changes in her perceptions and behavior, and that she now does carry intervention-distributed naloxone with her.The helper role was a critical driver for some participants’ (n = 7) decision to carry naloxone. Participants said that they carried naloxone in part because they had access to it and their fellow community members often did not, amplifying their sense of social responsibility.