The dual crises of homelessness and opioid addiction have turned many public libraries into battlegrounds. In a 2017 survey, half of all public librarians said they had recently provided substance use or mental health support to patrons. Another 12% reported drug overdoses at their library in the previous year.  

Last year, Los Angeles County began making opioid-reversal drugs available to public libraries. Now, Santa Clara is poised to do the same.

“The board approved a referral from Supervisor Otto Lee that urged the county to seek options for providing Naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, in Santa Clara County libraries,” CBS News reports. “County administration will have a report for the Board of Supervisors at their April 4th meeting that details the costs and implementation measures needed to supply the libraries with Narcan kits.”  

"This is about saving peoples' lives. And in my case, in my thinking, this is a no brainer," Lee said. "I'm hoping that these good ideas will spread all over California and the country, because the need for having Narcan to save lives is absolutely crucial everywhere."

This is just the latest attempt to expand Narcan accessibility in Santa Clara. Last year, supervisors voted to allocate $135,000 in state funds to supply local high schools with the life-saving drug.