Kendall

As a teenager I felt such anger and loss that both my parents were stuck in the opioid crisis. First in 2010 my dad overdosed, was revived by Naloxone and arose in an agitated state. With naloxone not being promoted enough, they saw the normal reaction of anger as a sign he was out of control and tasered him to death. On Christmas my mother was using and overdosed. Whether she was alone or the people with her were scared of being persecuted, she had no way of receiving naloxone and passed away. I was left feeling so lost, angry and empty. Ten years later I am now a Social Service Worker who works at addressing harm reduction in our community through education and hands on outreach. The people we see on the street are human beings as well and deserve compassion, support and understanding. I can only wish now that I understood that at age 17 instead of anger. I will always love you mom & dad. I will forever use your stories as an inspiration to help others better their lives.