AUSTIN (KXAN) – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office just announced it’s handing out another 60,000 units of naloxone, also known as NARCAN, to Texas police departments.
It’s just one effort to combat Fentanyl-related deaths, but some families who have been impacted by this deadly drug are working to educate people on the dangers.
JoAnn Lopez has an entire wall filled with pictures of people who have lost their lives from fentanyl and one of them is her granddaughter.
“You wake up in the morning and they are not here,” Lopez said. “And it is just a reminder that fentanyl took her life.”
Victoria Trevino was just 26 years old when she died.
“I started with a desire to do something,” said Lopez. “To bring awareness. I couldn’t just sit at home and grieve over my granddaughter.”
Lopez said she joined groups and shared Victoria’s story in hopes of saving the lives of others.
According to Travis County, in 2020, fentanyl-related overdoses killed 883 people in Texas.
In 2021, that number climbed to 1,672 deaths. Lopez knows a lot of work still has to be done, but raising awareness about this growing issue is her top priority.
“We go around and we do rallies and we bring awareness because we are trying to save other people’s children too,” said Lopez.
One pill can kill, but maybe one story, from someone who’s seen the pain fentanyl can cause, can save a life.
“I had a lovely granddaughter and she loved her grandmother,” Lopez said.
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