Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina
Stronger Together! Grassroots campaign against illicit fentanyl in NC IRS recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity EIN: 88-3921380
Fentvic Meetup #14 (open to the public)
Hickory, Catawba County & Adjacent NC Counties
Saturday, August 24, 2024, 2:00-4:00 pm
| Date | Saturday, August 24, 2024, 2:00-4:00 pm |
| Location | Grace Church Downtown Campus 26 2nd Street NW Hickory 28601 |
Fentvic Meetup #13 (open to the public)
Statesville, Iredell County & Adjacent NC Counties
Saturday, July 27, 2024, 2:00-4:00 pm
| Date | Saturday, July 27, 2024, 2:00-4:00 pm |
| Location | Bristol Road Community Center 1605 Bristol Road Statesville, NC 28677 |
Coverage from the 6PM edition:
Coverage from the 11PM edition:
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) — It’s a problem that’s become all too common.
In Durham County alone, the sheriff said last year they seized 3.7 grams of fentanyl from the streets. This year, so far over 300 grams have been removed.
On Saturday the group Fentanyl Victims of North Carolina held its 12th meet-up in Durham.
Natalie Beauchaine proudly shared a photo of her son Jake.
“He was smart he was giving he was loyal if he was your friend he was your loyal friend,” Natalie said.
But behind his smile was also a battle with addiction that ultimately turned tragic.
“It was not an overdose, it was something that he thought was heroin,” Natalie said.
ALSO SEE: ‘World No Tobacco Day’ highlights effort to curb the use of vaping in youth
The heroin was laced with a fatal amount of fentanyl. In the midst of her grief, Natalie found community among other members of a club no one wants to be a part of – families of fentanyl victims.
“It doesn’t know race, it doesn’t know color, it doesn’t know socioeconomic background, it affects everybody,” she said.
Around a table, other families shared similar stories, including how many were caught off guard by what has become a silent killer.
“Marijuana can be laced with fentanyl and sometimes fentanyl can even be in water or soda as far as a child is concerned, and you don’t know that it’s there which is really really dangerous,” said Dr. Wanda Boone.
Dangerous also because of how cheap and prevalent it is.
“It is an economic boon to the drug trade,” said Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead.
Birkhead said his office is working to get fentanyl off the streets.
“Once they get it, they can take those 3.7 grams or those 300 grams and just multiply it exponentially,” he said.
One solution they’re fighting for is making sure naloxone is available in every school in the state. They’re also hoping these stories and legacies save lives.
“I just don’t want to see any other families go through this. It’s a horrible grief and it’s just something that nobody else has to go through,” Natalie said.
Wake County approved naloxone in all schools but not every county has them. State Senator Mike Woodard said it would only cost around $350,000 to supply naloxone statewide and he’s hoping to get it into the state budget.
Read the story and watch the video on the ABC11 News website.
Fentvic Meetup #12 (open to the public)
Durham County + Chatham, Granville, Orange, Person & Wake Counties
| Date | Saturday, June 1, 2024, 2:00-4:00 pm |
| Location | 406 East Trinity Avenue American Legion Bldg Durham NC 27701 |
Be Seen ~ Be Heard ~ Be Remembered
| Date | Wednesday, May 1, 2024, 10:00-11:00 am |
| Location | North Carolina Legislative Building 16 West Jones Street Raleigh NC 27601 |
Please RSVP to attend the event.
Fentvic Meetup #11 Forsyth County & Adjacent NC Counties(open to the public)
| Date | Saturday, March 9, 2024, 2:00-4:00 pm |
| Location | Smith-Collins Park, 909 E Lee St Smithfield, NC 27577 |
Fentvic Meetup #10 Johnston County & Adjacent NC Counties (open to the public)
| Date | Saturday, March 9, 2024, 2:00-4:00 pm |
| Location | Smith-Collins Park, 909 E Lee St Smithfield, NC 27577 |
GASTONIA, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — There are a lot of families hurting in North Carolina.
The state has seen 16,000 killed from fentanyl this year through July alone, according to the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina.
That’s 16,000 families missing a loved one because of a growing nationwide fentanyl epidemic. Tracy Sauderson-Ross wishes she would have been home back on Sept. 26, 2022, when her 16-year-old daughter, Abi, was dealing with leg pain and Abi’s boyfriend tried to help.
“He decided to call a buddy of his to get a Percocet,” described Saunderson-Ross. “She took half of the Percocet, it was a bar, and it was 36 nanograms of fentanyl, and she passed away in the middle of the night.”
Marshall Abbott was out with friends on June 30, 2022, the day before his 30th birthday. A friend he was with bought something. The family still doesn’t know what it was, but they know a loving father didn’t wake up.
“Marshall had 72 nanograms of fentanyl in his system,” said Elizabeth Abernathy. “He didn’t stand a chance. He was gone before he even crawled into the bed.”
Continue reading “Families hope new NC law could bring justice for fentanyl deaths”The fentanyl crisis has taken the lives of more than 13,000 North Carolinians in recent years and it’s currently killing eight North Carolinians a day. The rise in overdose deaths is driven by illegally manufactured fentanyl.
The group Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina recently joined NC Newsline for an extended conversation, in which founder Barb Walsh shared her family’s story, described the organization she leads, and shared some of the policy changes the group is seeking from state leaders.
Editor’s note: This is a rebroadcast of an interview NC Newsline originally aired August 20, 2023.
Listen to the interview and read the original article on the NCNewsline website.