Shani Reisnour said increasing access to Narcan is a critical initiative for Mya’s Mission, a program of the Providence Foundation in North Dakota, which is named to honor her daughter Mya Lynn Schiele. Schiele suffered from substance abuse and addiction, and died of a fentanyl overdose on July 24, 2022.

“I’ve been a paramedic for 20 years. Although Mya’s loss was extremely tragic, I felt because of my background I needed to do something to help people and be my daughter’s voice,” Reisnour said. “She had bought a pill and thought it was something else that was laced with fentanyl, so she didn’t know what it was or what was happening.”

Reinsour said her mission has been to speak out on the importance of mental health and support increased access to Narcan. Mya’s Mission has placed two free Narcan boxes in the state so far in Watford City and at Northern Testing. The boxes and the purchasing of the Narcan within them is funded through donations of Mya’s Mission or sponsorships.

“It is also important for me to save other people, other mothers from having to do this – giving free access to Narcan and judgment free. You can still buy it from CVS or get it from public health, but sometimes people are scared of that judgment,” Reisnour said.

Charles Crane/MDN The free Narcan box was placed at Northern Testing in Minot on Wednesday in the memory of Mya Schiele to increase accessibility to the medication, which reverses opioid overdoses.

Another aspect of Mya’s mission is educating parents and their children about mental health and the realities of substance abuse disorders and addiction.

“I’m speaking at Lake Region College (in Devils Lake) on Tuesday to parents to educate them on things I didn’t know. I’m a paramedic. You’d think I’d know my daughter was on drugs. But addiction looked a lot different to me than it looked at home. I want to educate parents on what to look for to keep them from having to experience this,” Reisnour said. “I also speak to schools, and speak to students about real life and what really happens. One pill can kill. You can’t experiment anymore.”

Mya’s mission also offers grants to individuals seeking treatment for substance use and mental health disorders in the state through the Providence Foundation to remove financial barriers and make residential, outpatient and sober living programs more accessible.

“That helps people get treatment if they financially need help. They can also get medications while in treatment if they can’t afford it,” Reisnour said.

The Mya’s Mission free Narcan box can be found at Northern Testing’s current location at 2201 15th St. SW. Northern Testing will be moving to a new location at 917 20th Ave. SE at the end of January.