National Guard troops have administered about 50 doses of Narcan at Starburst Plaza in Northeast Washington since they began patrolling the area in late July, a Guard spokesperson confirmed.

The plaza, which neighbors and reporters have called an open-air drug market, sits less than two miles from the D.C. jail. WUSA9 reported Monday, Aug. 31 that it is often a landing spot for people released from the facility. Also on Monday, the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) sent outreach teams to the plaza to distribute naloxone kits and conduct HIV testing for International Overdose Awareness Day.

Cee McRae, a self-described recovering addict, told WUSA9 he has been placing Narcan kits on top of bus stops near the plaza so people know where to find them.

"We don't want to see lives down. We've seen too many lives down this week - this month off of overdoses," McRae said.

McRae called the plaza a potential trap for people in recovery. He said people released from the nearby jail need other places to go, or their first instinct will be to use drugs.

Citywide overdose numbers have declined. D.C. recorded 1,777 non-fatal opioid overdoses and 76 fatal opioid overdoses as of late August, both down from the same period last year, according to WUSA9. The Bowser administration said in a Monday press release that fatal and non-fatal overdoses across the District have dropped about 30% compared with the same period last year. The city has distributed 510,000 free naloxone kits, and DBH reported that 21,000 suspected overdoses have been reversed with naloxone.

Starburst Plaza's troubles are not new. John Robinson, 90, a Trinidad resident of more than 30 years, described conditions before the Guard arrived in a WUSA9 report Friday, Aug. 28: "There were a lot of people selling drugs, a lot of people having ODs, and the ambulance was going over two, three, four times a day." Several neighbors in the Trinidad area told WUSA9 they have seen improvements since troops and federal agents were stationed at the plaza.

The Guard deployment in the Trinidad area, which prompted parents to push for a ban on troops near a local school, is part of President Trump's Make DC Safe and Beautiful initiative. More than 4,000 Guard members from roughly 20 states are now in the city, and the deployment is authorized through January 2029, DC News Now reported. Brig. Gen. Leland Blanchard, the D.C. National Guard's interim commanding general, told DC News Now on Thursday, Aug. 27 that Guard members have administered Narcan to more than 400 people citywide.

Beyond the Guard, community organizations are working to reduce overdose deaths. HIPS (Honoring Individual Power & Strength), a D.C.-based harm-reduction group, operates free vending machines around the city where people can obtain Narcan. Johnny Bailey, a manager at HIPS, told WUSA9 that overdoses have dropped more than 50% in the Northwest D.C. neighborhood near the group's office since they began active outreach there.

Naloxone is available at more than 140 community sites and 30 pharmacies across all eight wards. Residents can text "LiveLongDC" to 888-811 to get naloxone at no charge, or text "Ready" to 888-811 to access addiction treatment.