SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego County has terminated its contracts with the Harm Reduction Coalition, an organization that helps distribute life-saving naloxone medication to those struggling with substance abuse.
Naloxone, which rapidly reverses the effects of opioid overdoses, has been credited with saving countless lives across the county.
"I would be dead. I really would. It's a terrifying, terrifying experience," said Nikki Brackeen, who survived a fentanyl overdose thanks to naloxone.
Brackeen thought she was using methamphetamine but realized it was fentanyl when she woke up 17 hours later. She says naloxone not only saved her life but helped her save others.
"Substance abuse, it's so much deeper and they're not going to be able to just stop using drugs just because there's no more Narcan. All we're gonna have is a lot of dead people," Brackeen said.
Tara Stamos, founder and CEO of the Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego, said the organization has struggled since the contract ended on June 30.
"Since then we've struggled to be able to provide the amount of naloxone that the community members continue to reach out to us for," Stamos said.
Stamos explained that while in the process of a private outside audit, she discovered one of her employees was not properly managing money, prompting her to notify the District Attorney's Office.
"Maybe we could have stayed operating the way we were, but I wasn't okay with fraud going on. I wasn't okay with mismanagement of things," Stamos said.
The organization plans to continue its work through state funding and grant applications, though Stamos says it will be challenging without the county's support.
"We're going to continue doing what we do. We are out on the streets some weeks 7 days out of the week," she said.
Stamos compared the situation to when she first started the organization five years ago.
"We didn't have any funds and it was me doing it out of the back of my garage with donations," she said.
The county says it is working with partners to ensure the public has access to naloxone and is currently reviewing the canceled contracts.
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