MANCHESTER, Tenn. (WTVF) — After losing his son to an opioid overdose, Alan Vickers founded a nonprofit to distribute life-saving Narcan in his hometown of Manchester, Tennessee, and many communities beyond.
It's called Chase Away Fentanyl.
Click here for more information about the services they offer.
It's named after his son Chase Vickers, who lost his final battle with addiction in January of 2024.
"I relive that day, every day, you know, and I wonder, what could I have done differently? And I didn't have Narcan at home," Vickers said.
Weeks later, he decided to dedicate his life to making sure other families would never be without the medication that could have saved his son.
Through Chase Away Fentanyl, Vickers has been able to distribute Narcan and its generic form, Naloxone, but now he's facing a critical supply shortage as his low-cost supplier has closed.
Chase Away Fentanyl offers education, outreach, and focuses on getting Narcan into the hands of people in Manchester and beyond.
"I don't want anybody else to feel what I'm feeling," Vickers said.
According to Vickers, last month, the nonprofit supplying him with Narcan at a very low cost went out of business.
"I was getting 480 doses a month for less than $200," Vickers said.
Now, after searching extensively, he said he can't find anything close to that price.
"It's $24 a unit, which is 2 doses," he said.
His current supply will be depleted quickly.
"Probably what I've got here will last maybe six weeks," Vickers said.
The impact extends beyond his organization.
Vickers has been sharing his Narcan with smaller, newer nonprofits in the area, including Medicine for the People, founded by Max Quick this past winter.
Quick said his supply is dangerously low, too.
"The moment I go out this weekend and pass that out, that'll be gone within an hour or two, and then I'll be on the process of trying to access and find more Narcan," said Max Quick, founder of Medicine For The People.
According to Quick, providing someone with Narcan can be the first step to helping people battling addiction, and get them comfortable talking to folks offering help.
"It's one of the tools that I use to connect initially with people, and develop a relationship with someone and give them, you know, a non-judgmental resource," said Max Quick, founder of Medicine For The People.
Click here for more information about Medicine For The People and their outreach efforts.
Both Vickers and Quick said they believe nonprofits like theirs play an important role in filling in the gaps to reach people who need help, but may not feel comfortable interacting with state or county officials.
This story was reported on-air by Robb Coles and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Coles verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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