206 vehicles drive thru for Kane’s mental health, gun safety event

When the Kane County Health Department opened up its first drive-thru event Friday, April 25 to raise awareness of suicide prevention and to offer free gun safes, they hadn’t figured on 200 vehicles lined up before the start.

“It was wrapped around the building about 10:30, about a half-hour before we opened up,” Community Health Director Kim Peterson said of the line of vehicles. “We’ve been super-happy with this turn out. Everyone’s coming to get their gun safes, their gun (barrel) locks, their naloxone.”

Naloxone is the generic of Narcan, a drug that reverses an opioid overdose.

The two-hour event, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. was non-stop in the parking lot at the Circuit Clerk’s Office in St. Charles.

Rain was no deterrent, but some who came early left before collecting anything.

“We’ve seen a lot of people (who) picked up their yard signs and the promotional material for the 988,” Peterson said, referring to the Health Department’s 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline awareness campaign.

People who are having a mental health crisis, or thoughts of suicide should call or text 988.

“We plan to have it so many places that hopefully people will become familiar,” Health Promotions Manager Tina Koral said.

They also offered safe drug storage bags, where any type of medication can be locked up so nobody else can get to it, Koral said.

The bag had a marijuana leaf emblem.

“It’s a statewide campaign sponsored by Let’s Talk Cannabis,” Koral said. “It’s just really to keep cannabis safe from children.”

Batavia resident Sean O’Brien was one who came for the trigger locks and a gun safe.

“I’m a coach on the shooting team in Elburn – for the sportsman’s club out there – and so trigger locks and gun safes are a good thing so why not use them?" O’Brien said. “We practice what we preach.”

Eric and Amanda Bellon of Maple Park, said they also came for gun safety.

“(We) picked up everything except the safe,” Eric Bellon said.

With more than an hour to go, they had run out of gun safes – they had 70 to give out – and were running low on the thousand boxes of naloxone, but Koral said they hoped to do the program again this summer.

Michael and Barbara Tuman of rural St. Charles picked up naloxone, a safe drug storage bag and a 988 decal.

“I think is an excellent idea – very definitely, an excellent idea,” Michael Tuman said of the Health Department’s mental health and gun safety promotion.

Steve Kowall of Elgin came for the gun safes, but collected everything else, too.

“I figured, may as well get all the information and products I can to help with suicide prevention and everything else,” Kowall said. “It makes people aware and that’s the big thing.”

Kyle Griffin, the emergency response supervisor for the health department, said they were pleased with the turnout.

“There was an overwhelming amount of participation,” Griffin said. “We were ready for a busy event. We did not anticipate that so many people would be on the forefront of wanting gun safes...It’s actually very exciting to see.”

Geneva resident Steve McHugh, co-lead at Illinois Be SMART, an organization that promotes gun safety, was one of the Kane County Medical Reserve Corps members who volunteered for the event.

“Were just very thankful to the Health Department for providing gun safes,” McHugh said. “Those are in high demand. They are very nice to use. You can get to your gun quickly through a fingerprint.”

Another volunteer, St. Charles resident Jodi Smith, was counting cars.

With an hour to go, they were up to 167.

“Both very important causes – mental health and gun safety,” Smith said.

The final tally was:

• 206 vehicles
• 846 of the 988 Lifeline Suicide and Crisis Lifeline awareness campaign materials, including yard signs, window and car decals and magnets
• 434 Naloxone kits with two doses in each box
• 99 locking drug storage bags
• 317 gun barrel locks
• 70 biometric gun safes, which are opened with a fingerprint