NEENAH (NBC 26) — Public art on a vending machine in Neenah is helping to break down the stigma around substance addiction and overdose.
- Two new painted Narcan vending machines were placed in Neenah and Oshkosh.
- The machines offer life-saving overdose prevention kits at a time when overdose deaths in Winnebago County have reached an all-time high.
- The art on the vending machines is meant to destigmatize the need for the kits.
At a public event on Friday, Sept. 20 at the Neenah Department of Human Services, city staff unveiled the design of new Narcan-dispensing vending machines for the county.
The vending machines offer free overdose prevention resources to the community without the fear of legal repercussions or judgement.
The machines offer Narcan kits– a brand of medication to reverse an opioid overdose– fentanyl test strips, basic essentials kits and a safe substance disposal bag.
"These machines are in areas of high need, dispensing life-saving tools, such as the opioid reversal medication naloxone, fentanyl test strips, and other vital resources," Michelle Haese, policy initiatives advisor with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, said at the Friday event. "Providing confidential, judgement-free, low barrier access to these supplies which can literally mean the difference between life and death."
According to the Winnebago County Overdose Fatality Review Annual Report, their were 47 overdose deaths in the county in 2023, the highest number reported ever.
Fentanyl was found as the primary cause of 31 of the overdose deaths.
Winnebago County Public Health decided to hold an art call to add positivity to the machines.
"The objective of this design contest was to reduce the stigma of people with substance use disorders," Maddie Breager, Winnebago County community health strategist and one of the leaders on this project, said.
The County chose three artists' work to decorate two machines, now placed outside of the public health buildings in Oshkosh and Neenah.
"I wanted bright colors, colors I don't usually work with, but I'm like these are fun uplifting colors, and they'll be perfect for the design," Kelly Reyer, one of the winners of the art contest, said.
Reyer has been an artist her entire life, but she's never done a public art piece before. She decided to enter the art call to honor two of her family members who have struggled with addiction.
"And I honestly, there was a part where I didn't think they could get sober, but I'm so excited that they both proved me wrong," Reyer said. "I know that recovery is possible, and if I could get that message through the artwork, I was really excited about the opportunity to do that."
Reyer's design depicts people climbing up ladders, meant to express the different paths one can take to recovery. She also painted the words, "One step at a time."
"If today you're doing one thing that could help you, that's one step towards recovery," Reyer said.
