While millions of people are watching the NCAA Tournament, Forsyth County is hoping their ad about a mother who lost her son to addiction, will spread awareness.
The ad created by Forsyth County Behavioral Health Services starts with mother Stephanie Lynch telling her story about what happened to her 27-year-old son Evan who died in 2020 after battling addiction.
Lynch said Evan was injured on a job and given oxycodone by his doctor. She says he became addicted to the opioids and once he could no longer get the pain pills, he started using heroin.
Lynch said Evan went to rehab several times and struggled. Itโs something she says he couldnโt stop.
“Evan hated being addicted to opioids, he hated it. He would tell me, ‘you know, mom, I don’t want to die as a drug addict, I don’t want that to be what people remember me for,'” Lynch said.
On April 11, 2020, Evan died from Fentanyl poisoning.
Although he lost that fight, Lynch said heโs no longer in pain and is at peace now.
Her hope is his story will help others.
“His death maybe was not in vain that, you know, his story can help someone else going through the same thing be able to get help or see that they need help or a family member to see that they need help,” Lynch said.
Now Lynch and her sonโs story will be displayed for millions of people to see throughout the month of March during NCAA tournament coverage.
โIt’s devastating to lose someone you know to substance abuse. It just destroys your whole family. So if there’s anything I can do to help anyone, I’m always willing to do that,” Lynch said.
Annie Vasquez, a Substance Use Health Educator said the ad was created to show the realities of the opioid epidemic in Forsyth County and everywhere.
“The reality is that it touches every single age group, every single race, gender and zip code,” Vasquez said.
Vasquez said in addition to this ad, they have another one airing that’s centered around pills.
Barbara Walsh, founder of Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, has efforts underway to put Fentanyl reversing drug Naxolone or ‘Narcan’ in all state schools.
Barbara Walsh, founder of Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, has efforts underway to put Fentanyl reversing drug Naxolone or ‘Narcan’ in all state schools.
What is Fentanyl?
It’s a powerful synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but 50 to 100 times more potent.
While it is a prescription drug, it also can be made and used illegally.
When used properly, fentanyl treats severe pain like after surgery.
According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, synthetic opioids like fentanyl are now the most common type of drugs involved in overdoses in the U.S.
Finding Solutions
Wake County resident, Barbara Walsh’s life changed forever in 2021. Her 24-year-old daughter died from fentanyl poisoning after unknowingly drinking a bottle of water laced with the drug.
Because of that unfortunate event, Walsh is now leading efforts to get fentanyl out of the hands of minors and put Naloxone on the shelves of schools in North Carolina.
Walsh’s network speaks and connects with families who have lost loved ones to the fentanyl drug.
Currently, Walsh is pushing for the opioid reversal medication Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, to be available in every school in our state. Her efforts are across all 100 counties of our state.
“We’re seeing a lot of adolescents experimenting or unknown to them or experiencing fentanyl crisis and their lives could be saved if Naloxone which is the antidote to the fentanyl emergency is administered,” Walsh said.
Since Walsh’s efforts began in December 2023, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has added naloxone to its first aid kits at every school. Nurses and at least two first responders at each school are to be trained in how to use it.
The Fent Vic organization will be holding a meetup on April 14 in Winston-Salem. For more information, click or tapย HERE.ย
Fentanyl Crisis in the Triad
Here in the triad, there are efforts underway.
State and local leaders addressed the opioid and fentanyl crisis alongside local leaders in February.
A combined $89 million dollars is going to fight the crisis in the Triad. $47 million dollars of that federal money is coming to Greensboro and Guilford County. Another $42 million dollars heads to Forsyth County and Winston-Salem.
The money is earmarked to help prosecute drug suppliers, and decrease demand thru recovery services.
Over the next 18 years, Wake County will receive $65 million to fight the opioid crisis.
Families who lost loved ones to opioids are helping Wake County plan how to spend millions of dollars to prevent more deaths.
According to Wake County, 219 people died from overdoses in the county in 2022, the last full year of recorded data. That’s one person every 40 hours.
Data from the Raleigh Police Department shows 103 of those deaths — nearly half — occurred in Raleigh, making 2022 the city’s most deadly year on record since police began tracking drug overdoses in 2015.
Over the next 18 years, Wake County will receive $65 million as part of a $50 billion nationwide settlement that forces drugmakers and distributors to pay for their part in the opioid epidemic.
On Friday, Wake County leaders asked for the community’s input on how to best use the money.
Wake County’s Opioid Settlement Community met Friday inside the McKimmon Center at North Carolina State University. The committee brought together more than 100 people, including families who’ve lost loved ones to the opioid crisis.
Cheryl Stallings, a Wake County commissioner, said the county has already received about $4.85 million.
“This is significant, and this is historical,” Stallings said. “We really want to use these funds wisely, and we think one of the best ways to do that is to plan with as many people as involved as how we want to use those funds moving forward.”
The funds have helped expand treatment for people with opioid use disorder and provided resources for survivors of an overdose.
Now, Wake County must create a plan to spend more settlement funds over the next two years.
“We have these funds that can actually do something in stopping that trend and building an infrastructure of health and well being for our community moving forward,” Stallings said.
Cary resident Barb Walsh said moving forward is how she honors her daughter, Sophia, who died of fentanyl poisoning in 2021.
“She stopped at an acquaintanceโs house and grabbed a bottle of water, and in that bottle of water was diluted fentanyl,” Walsh said.
Walsh now runs the nonprofit Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina to help shape the response to the opioid crisis in Wake County.
“These folks are compassionate,” Walsh said. “Theyโre committed to saving lives, and so am I.”
Walsh said she hopes there can be easier access to the drugs Naloxone or Narcan, which can reverse an opioid overdose.
Wake County is currently trying to expand where people can get the life-saving drugs, including working with the Wake County Public School System to make Narcan available on all campuses.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) โ Wake County wants the communityโs input on how to spend more than $65 million. The county will receive the money over the next 18 years as part of a national opioid settlement.
The county says it wants people directly impacted by the opioid epidemic to help make these decisions, and they hosted a community meeting Friday, bringing together several different groups sharing their stories.
โShe died immediately. Naloxone was not administered and 911 was not called,โ said Barb Walsh, executive director of the Fentanyl Victims Network of NC.
In August 2021, Walshโs daughter Sophia was 24, applying to grad school and getting ready to buy a house, but one day, she stopped at an acquaintanceโs house.
โShe grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge,โ Walsh said.
Walsh said the bottle had fentanyl in it, killing her daughter.
โYou go into a black hole when your child dies,โ Walsh said.
She joined nearly 150 people at Wake Countyโs community meeting Friday to discuss how the county should spend money from the national opioid settlement.
โThis will really help us define how to make these investments over the next two years,โ said Alyssa Kitlas, Wake Countyโs opioid settlement program manager.
Overdose deaths in Wake County have increased since 2019. In 2021, state health records show 240 people died of of an overdose.
โWeโd like to slow that trend and really support people with their most immediate needs,โ Kitlas said.
The county wants to keep investing in treatment, early intervention and housing support.
Other groups, like the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, also want to make sure people with firsthand experience are part of making decisions.
During the traffic stop, narcotics agents discovered a liquid fentanyl mixture, marijuana, and fentanyl that was individually wrapped in Brandon Currie’s wallet.
A man was arrested for carrying a pound of liquid fentanyl in Sanford on Monday.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested Brandon Currie during a traffic stop on Third Street in Sanford.
During the traffic stop, narcotics agents discovered a liquid fentanyl mixture, marijuana, and fentanyl that was individually wrapped in Currieโs wallet.
The fentanyl mixture weighed over 500 grams, a little more than one pound.
Currie, 39, was arrested and charged with:
Trafficking opioid by transport
Trafficking opioid by possession
Possession of controlled substance within 1000 feet of a school
Simple possession schedule VI controlled substance
Maintaining a vehicle for sale of controlled substance
Possession of drug paraphernalia
Possession of marijuana paraphernalia
Currie was issued a $100,000 bond on Tuesday by judge.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Lawmakers in the Maryland General Assembly are hearing bills to prohibit the distribution of heroin and fentanyl without lawful authority to do so. Victoria & Scottieโs Law is named in honor of two individuals who died from fentanyl overdoses. The bill would impose up to 20 years of imprisonment on anyone convicted of selling these substances that lead to serious bodily injury or death.
Move will allow school employees to administer overdose rescue drug
In a unanimous vote at its May 8 meeting, the Dare County Board of Education passed a new policy allowing school personnel to administer Naloxone. The so-called rescue drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, Naloxone has become an important tool in the battle against the opioid epidemic.
Dare County School Board Member Matt Brauer asked if school nurses and school resource officers should be the primary administrator of Naloxone.
School personnel are not required to train to use Naloxone, but the policy establishes guidelines for the storage, procurement, administration and other details related to Naloxone on campus. Students and parents or guardians will be notified annually of the policy.
According to the draft policy text in the meeting agenda packet, Naloxone will be stored in the school nurseโs office or another location designated by the school nurse or superintendent, and it โshall be made available to those trained to administer it in the event of a suspected drug-related overdose.โ
The school nurse will ensure that all trained staff are aware of the Naloxoneโs storage location and will periodically check the expiration date, notifying administration prior to its expiration, according to the policy.
Lists of school district employees who have completed Naloxone administration training will be maintained in the school districtโs administrative office and in the head nurse supervisorโs office. Anyone who administers Naloxone โin accordance with North Carolina law is immune from any civil or criminal liability,โ the policy notes.
โThe Dare County Board of Education makes no representation regarding the availability of Naloxone in the school system at any given time,โ the policy states.
The policy also says law enforcement will be notified of the possession or use of illegal substances and that students using illegal substances will be disciplined in accordance with board policies.
Other district policies that were revised or added at the May 8 meeting were done so at the recommendation of the North Carolina School Boards Association, according to Dare County Board of Education Attorney Rachel Hitch.
โBut this is one [policy] that came up in conjunction with your local health department,โ Hitch said, adding that Assistant Superintendent Steve Blackstock worked on the draft policy in conjunction with school nurses before it was brought to the board for adoption.
During a roughly 10-minute discussion on the topic, School Board Member Matt Brauer asked several questions, including whether the policy came from a standing order from the state. The standing order since August 2017, signed by the North Carolina State Health Director, allows anyone at risk of experiencing an overdose, anyone who may be able to assist someone experiencing an overdose, or anyone who requests naloxone, to receive the medication.
โThe standing order from the state removes hurdles for you to have the medicine in the school system if you need itโฆso that you may [have this policy],โ Hitch responded.
โWhy wouldnโt we justโฆlay it off on the school nurse, who is a healthcare provider, or even the school resource officer, whoโs a first responder? Shouldnโt they be the primary person to administerโ Naloxone? Brauer asked.
Dare County Schools Superintendent Steve Basnight responded that the goal is to make Naloxone available where itโs needed, in accessible locations. Blackstock agreed, adding that many activities take place in school buildings after school hours when the school nurse is not onsite.
The Dare County Department of Health and Human Services distributes Naloxone at no cost to community members, so Hitch noted that teachers and students may already have the medication on hand.
โWe figured if itโs in your schools, then we need to make sure that weโre telling people how it needs to be handled,โ Hitch said.
In response to Brauerโs question about potential civil litigation, she said that sheโd learned from a Dare County Health Department presentation that if someone were not overdosing and received Naloxone, โthere are no implications,โ meaning they wouldnโt suffer harm.
โThe idea was: The administration is easy, the risk is very minimalโฆand the possibility that the issue finds its way to your schools is unfortunately very high; so that was the thinking behind the policy,โ Hitch said.
Board Member Mary Ellon Ballance said that some teachers and substitutes are also trained first responders or volunteer first responders who may have used Naloxone in that role to treat overdoses. โI know that Hatteras has several that are also members of the rescue squad and work at the rescue squad in the summer, so they would have access [to Naloxone].โ
Board Member David Twiddy asked about what might happen if a student experienced an overdose while on an activity bus away from campus and no one there had the medication.
Basnight said that the policy doesnโt require Naloxone to be available in โevery aspect of school life. What weโre saying is, if itโs going to be in the building, hereโs where we want it.โ
โItโs similar to the AEDs [Automated external defibrillators], Hitch added. โWe donโt have them everywhere, but we know that if we have them somewhere, that we have a chance of helping a kid.โ
