18 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 29-JUNE 4, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com It’s about 10:30am on a chilly Friday morning in February, and the streets of Chinatown in Salinas are crowded with tents and tarps, although few people are out. A white Ford F-150 rolls up and parks along Soledad Street. A team of five from Central Coast Overdose Prevention (CCODP) steps out to offer the unhoused people who live under these tents and tarps a path forward, one without drugs. Dr. Reb Close, Jeremy Reigart, Hector Perez, Anna Alamo-Lopez and Aidan Pettit-Miller begin their rounds. Close is immediately greeted by one of her patients, while Perez and Reigart check in with familiar faces, asking about their well-being. Pettit-Miller grabs boxes of Narcan—the brand name for naloxone, which can reverse the effects of overdoses—and starts handing out doses, ensuring each person understands how to use it. Pettit-Miller is an AmeriCorps volunteer who has been working with CCODP since July 2024. He places boxes of Narcan on the window ledge of an abandoned building. A woman approaches, curious about the Narcan. Nearby, a couple hunches over a folded piece of aluminum foil, preparing to smoke. While the smoke drifts into the cold morning air, Pettit-Miller talks to the woman about treatment options and demonstrates how to administer Narcan. She listens intently and says that she and her husband want help. Close joins the conversation, and together they walk a block to meet the woman’s husband. The couple expresses a desire to get sober and start medication to curb their cravings. Close hands them her business card, offering a direct support line. This is the type of boots-on-theground outreach, patient by patient, that a collaborative team is taking on in an effort to get people with an opioid addiction on a path to sobriety. Their rounds take them not just to homeless A coalition of doctors and people in recovery are rewriting the way addiction is treated in Monterey County. Story and photos by Daniel Dreifuss SECOND CHANCES Every Friday, Central Coast Overdose Prevention outreach workers walk the streets of Chinatown, distributing Narcan and connecting with individuals seeking help to overcome drug addiction. To view a short film expanding on this story, visit montereycountynow.com. ON VIDEO
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