Ryan Sager often monitors the streets of Kensington on a mission to save those battling addiction from overdose deaths, writes Megan Palin for the New York Post. 

The Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia has been among the most drug-addled in the nation and has become the largest open-air drug market on the East Coast.

Sager finds anyone who overdosed and intervenes to save them by administering Narcan to help reverse the effects of the opioids. 

“That person can be up and responsive before an ambulance arrives so those precious minutes of not breathing are really reduced and that can make all the difference,” said Sager.

While Narcan has proven to help during an overdose, individuals battling addiction have shown mixed feelings about it.

As a result, Sager also often gives the Narcan inhalers out for them to have for future use when needed. 

While his work has earned him the heroic nickname “Narcan Batman,” it was a personal tragedy that led him there.

He was called to help a neighbor and friend in his building after she overdosed and paramedics had yet to arrive. 

Unfortunately, he could not help due to his lack of training and access to Narcan and she died. 

He doesn’t want to be in that situation ever again.

Read more about Ryan Sager’s mission at the New York Post. 

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