Ingela Travers-Hayward and William Perry, co-founders of the nonprofit This Must Be The Place , have been spending all summer touring festivals and events around the U.S., teaching folks how to bring people back from the dead.
Make no mistake, they’re not necromancers — just two people eager to raise awareness and educate the public about naloxone, a rapid-working medicine that can restore regular breathing in the case of an opioid overdose and reverse its effects.
Since their founding in 2022, the two have been able to distribute more than 57,000 kits of naloxone . For Perry, who grew up in the midst of the opioid epidemic on the North Side of Columbus, the organization's mission hits close to home.
“I was no different,” Perry said. “I had my own struggles with opioid addiction, and I lost a whole lot of friends along the way that are buried in cemeteries around Columbus. When I got my life together, all I knew was that I had a desire to give back and help in those areas and in my community. I didn't realize where that would take me.”
Where it took him, as it turned out, was back home. Support for their organization came right from Columbus.
Today, This Must Be The Place sources naloxone kits through the Ohio Department of Health’s Project DAWN and for out-of-state distribution, the Columbus-based Hikma Pharmaceuticals ’ donations of kloxxado, the company’s naloxone nasal-spray brand.
A complete full-circle moment, Perry said.
More: Drug overdose deaths drop in Franklin County to lowest level since pandemic
For Travers-Hayward, who grew up in Montreal and far from hard drugs, she said she's hoping to reach individuals who might not be aware of the power they hold to save lives. She noted that for the difficult conversation around the epidemic, education is the key.
“I think it's less apprehension, and more so, ‘I didn't realize that it was that easy. I didn't realize that if I give it to someone and it's not actually an overdose, it's not going to hurt them.’” she said. “Yes, it's important to be giving them the kloxxado, but I think education is just as important.”
On top of this education-oriented method, Perry said the organization has a strict no-uniform policy: an attitude of approachability aimed toward opening up space for genuine connections and conversation.
The two consider their partnership in this approach a “near perfect balance." Their different backgrounds allow them to connect with other backgrounds of people visiting their booth.
“They never come at us negatively,” Perry said. “They just come and ask their questions, and maybe they don't walk away with naloxone, but they walk away with more information. And if they don't walk away with naloxone, maybe they're ready for it the next time.”
Travers-Hayward and Perry have a nontraditional meet-cute. They first talked during the pandemic, when Travers-Hayward — also an Emmy Award-winning producer — interviewed him over the phone for her work on a documentary about how incarcerated individuals were experiencing the pandemic, particularly in Pickaway and Marion correctional institutions.
At the time of the interview, Perry was incarcerated at Pickaway Correctional Institution, but in September of 2020, Travers-Hayward traveled to Columbus to do some in-person research and got a chance to meet up with Perry for the first time, who had been recently released.
The rest was history. The two now share a loving home with each other and their beloved corgi, who is also the organization's mascot.
“There's no one else I would do this with,” Travers-Hayward said. “As easy as naloxone is to use, it's not an easy subject to tackle. Being able to have William (Perry) here with me, we're there for each other when it gets a bit too much.”
When visitors bring their own personal stories and journeys to the booth, it becomes a place where the work of the partnership shines as they witness the real-life impact of naloxone on individuals.
In one instance, Perry recalled one interaction with a festivalgoer: “I used this on my brother three times,” the visitor said. Perry believed he knew where this story was headed, began comforting her, tears welling up for both of them. But this story wasn’t a tragedy.
Photos: This Must Be The Place hands out free overdose reversing meds at festivals
“Right at that moment, her brother walks up and he put his arm around her and said, ‘Now I am a year and a half sober.’ And she looked at him with the most pride you could ever see anyone look at someone.”
The three of them stood on the edge of the sidewalk, the music of the festival booming behind them, sharing tears, joy.
“That's the reason you do it. It's not one time, it's not two times, she did it three times,” Perry said. “I'll do it 100 times for somebody because each time they're going to learn something from it, they're going to start making steps in the right direction and one day, it's all going to stick. Recovery is possible for anyone.”
elim@dispatch.c om
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus nonprofit This Must Be The Place battles opioid overdoses one festival at a time
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