Health Department Holds Resource Fair for Save A Life Day Outside ACJ
Published on September 28, 2026
National “Save A Life Day” has a special significance for Stacie Brown.
Brown, the Community Engagement Lead for the Allegheny Health Department’s Disease Prevention and Overdose program, is in recovery and is an opioid overdose survivor herself.
“Having lived experience definitely shows individuals that I understand,” Brown said. “I have that empathy and that level of trust that comes with it. Lived experience is very important.”
Save A Life Day, a grass-roots campaign that began less than a decade ago in West Virginia, started out distributing free Narcan. It’s grown to include all 50 states and is now celebrated on the fourth Thursday of September, which itself is National Recovery Month. Save A Life Day fell on Sept. 24 this year, and Brown organized a “pop-up” resource fair outside the Allegheny County Jail on Second Avenue.
As part of her job, Brown organizes similar events weekly or biweekly countywide that bring together county and community providers to offer services to residents targeting myriad issues. The events outside the jail are in a prime location for getting resources out to those who can benefit from them.
“We get those being released (from jail), we get those from Renewal and Second Avenue Commons, and we get people walking by,” Brown said. “We’ve had people pull over and talk to us on the street.”
Other county departments also participate including the Department of Human Services.
Matthew Bequeath, a program manager for MATTERS, a DHS contractor, set up his table and handed out pens, tote bags, notepads and literature about the services the organization offers.
MATTERS, which stands for Medication for Addiction Treatment and Electronic Referrals, participates in these events “to help some of the most forgotten people in in Allegheny County,” Bequeath said.
That can include helping people gain referrals to treatment or even providing transportation to and from appointments and the pharmacy as people continue their recovery journeys.
“Some of the biggest barriers that this population sees when trying to get connected are going to be those financial barriers, transportation barriers, and especially stigma,” Bequeath said. “We’re trying to raise awareness and hopefully reducing that stigma and then offering all those other services associated with MATTERS to combat those other barriers.”
On the other side of the jail entrance, Central Outreach Wellness Center was offering Narcan, information and other items. Central Outreach performs HIV and Hepatitis C testing and helps individuals overcome barriers to treatment and recovery.
Zach Bevan, a medical case manager and street team member for Central Outreach, said individuals at resource fairs tend to be seeking connections to community services for the first time or to continue with services they have previously received.
“(People say), ‘Here are some concerns that I’ve had’ or ‘here are some difficult connections I’ve had with my other primary care office or specialty office. Can you help me with those referrals and bridge that gap?’ ” Bevan said. “We’re able to go ahead and make communications with those teams… These are the services that they’re needing.”
Regarding testing, Bevan said that “no insurance is no problem.”
“We’re able to go ahead and get results for our patients and get them on the right process and right track even with no insurance,” Bevan said.
As attendees perused booths and took information and other items, providers also chatted with each other. Most of the providers participate in the same weekly resource fairs, forming what Brown called “our own little family.”
The next resource fair outside the jail is scheduled for October. Brown plans to continue to spread the message of recovery and offer resources to those who need them.
“That’s why I do what I do,” she said.
Media inquiries may be directed to Jesse Geleynse, Public Information Officer for the Allegheny County Jail
jesse.geleynse@alleghenycounty.us or by phone at 412-350-1267 or 412-760-4790 (cell).