Dispensing Hope: Hardin vending machine offers free recovery resources

HARDIN - Every week you’ll find Goldstein Little Eagle at the H.O.P.E recovery center in Big Horn County restocking the healthy choices kiosk.

He calls it the healthy choices kiosk because nestled inside are everyday items needed badly by some, but not always accessible to all.

The kiosk is in the form of a vending machine, where you can punch the numbers in for the item you need, but the cost is nothing.

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“Stuff like socks and toothbrushes and hygiene kits,” said Little Eagle.

Those are the basics, but also inside are lifesaving tools, like fentanyl test strips, needle disposal, and even Narcan in the event of an overdose.

“Getting the Naloxone out there to our community that need it,” he said. "And more importantly those that don’t know about it and need to know about it.”

Fentanyl overdoses killed 80 people across Montana in 2023.

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And because of the work Little Eagle is doing, this is the only Narcan vending machine in the eastern side of the state.

But the work isn’t easy. He acts as the Narcan coordinator for the State of Montana and is using the vending machine as a pilot project that he says has been quite successful in its first year of operation.

The goal is to make these items easier and cost-effective to get without anyone having to ask for them, taking the stigma away from the use of drugs.

“People that have an accidental overdose, elderly, children, not knowing what their doses are with prescriptions,” he said.

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In Hardin, the H.O.P.E Center, which is a part of One Health, sees as many as 30 people a day coming in and looking for a path to recovery, according to Peer Support Specialist Lonnie Vandersloot.

“A lot of people, I suppose they don’t want anyone knowing what’s going on if they are dealing with substance use,” he said.

So until they’re ready to take that step the vending machine provides information, resources, and tangible items to help in recovery.

“It can save lives,” said Vandersloot. “This is an opportunity for more lives to be saved and have access to that.”

It’s something Bradley Chandler knows too well. He’s in active recovery and uses the center to help meet his goals of becoming sober.

Chandler encourages people to use not only the resources at H.O.P.E but also the items inside the vending machine, whether it be Narcan or toothbrush.

It’s hard to reach out for help,” said Chandler.”

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The vending machine is funded by a grant through the Montana Public Health Institute. Little Eagle says there’s another two years of funding for the Narcan vending machine, but he hopes to see it expand.

He’s currently looking for a location to place a vending machine in Billings but has yet to find a location that will work.

In addition to the Hardin Narcan vending machine, Little Eagle says there’s also one in Kalispell.

His goal is to see them all across the state as overdose deaths continue to take lives.