Our Healthbox: A Lifeline in the Fight Against Opioid Overdoses

At the NorWest Co-op Community Health Clinic in Winnipeg, Manitoba, harm reduction coordinator Dano Tsouras regularly restocks the Our Healthbox machine with naloxone – a potentially life-saving medication that can reverse an opioid overdose.

Winnipeg is a city that continues to face the devastating effects of Canada’s ongoing opioid crisis. Preliminary figures from Manitoba’s Chief Medical Examiner show that 530 people died from January to November 2024 from substance related deaths, including 67 drug related in January alone.

Naloxone is a vital tool in harm reduction.

Accessing it, however, has often been hindered by stigma and systemic barriers as many individuals face scrutiny or judgment when requesting naloxone at pharmacies, while others might live in remote areas where harm reduction services are scarce.

Our Healthbox is dismantling these barriers one box at a time.

“It is important to have naloxone kits in a low-barrier receptacle like Our Healthbox because it allows community to have access to lifesaving medication for their friends, family and community,” said Tsouras.

“Requesting naloxone at pharmacies often comes with unique barriers, and in some extreme cases, wrongfully flags individuals as ‘drug-seeking.’ Having low-barrier access to naloxone allows community members to carry it without the worry of being denied, shamed, or wrongfully flagged for possessing it.”

Developed by Dr. Sean B. Rourke, director of REACH Nexus at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, these interactive vending machines feature touchscreens installed onto commercially available vending machines — transforming them into Our Healthbox units.

The result? Machines that provide free, low-barrier, access to HIV self-test kits for people to “know their status”, naloxone, wellness products (e.g., menstrual and hygiene products or seasonal items like hats and gloves), and harm reduction supplies tailored to each community’s needs.

Our Healthboxes have been used more than 118,000

By placing Healthboxes in accessible locations, community members can discreetly obtain the resources they need. Our Healthboxes have been launched in both urban and rural areas, ensuring no one is left behind in the fight against opioid-related deaths.

The Healthbox at NorWest recently celebrated its one year anniversary, having reached over 2,100 people, distributing 200 HIV self-tests, 6,100+ wellness supplies, and 2,100+ harm reduction supplies.

It joins a growing network of 11 other Our Healthbox units that have been visited by close to 10,000 people, over 118,000 times, distributing more than 48,000 supplies—including over 2,000 naloxone kits — to reduce harm, and improve health and wellness.

The impact of Our Healthbox is not confined to major cities. In smaller communities, where access to harm reduction services is limited, these technology-based machines have been a critical resource.

“Having Our Healthbox in our smaller communities has enabled those communities to offer harm reduction supplies to their members who do not have the means to travel to Moncton to receive these services,” said Chantale Bourque, Our Healthbox Coordinator at Ensemble in Moncton, New Brunswick.

“It is helping us truly meet these community members where they are at.”

By bridging these gaps, Our Healthbox ensures that individuals—regardless of location or circumstance—can obtain naloxone and other essential harm reduction supplies. The initiative’s success is a testament to the power of community-driven solutions in addressing the opioid crisis.

Bourque said the Healthbox at Ensemble and Monarch Landing Shelter – Canada’s first box launched as part of the St. Michael’s research project in January 2023 – has proven to be “invaluable.”

“Our Healthbox has contributed to our community’s safety in countless ways over the past year,” said Bourque.

“Now that it is a well-known resource in our community, the demand for supplies continues to rise. This demonstrates that people are engaging in safer practices with sexual and substance-related activities."

As our Healthbox program continues to expand its reach, the message is clear: harm reduction saves lives.

With each naloxone kit distributed, the initiative strengthens the safety net for individuals, families, and entire communities. In the face of a crisis affecting families across Canada, OurHealthbox stands as a beacon of hope, compassion, and action.