PORTSMOUTH, Va.— According to the DEA, fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat to plague our country, and Portsmouth health officials and families are getting the word about this issue.
Portsmouth has the worst overdose drug death rate in Hampton Roads, according to the city's health department, leading them to have a training on how to reverse drug overdoses.
"Last year, 102 individuals died in Portsmouth from overdoses, and unfortunately, that makes us the highest in the Hampton Roads region, and also the 4th highest in the state," said Michelle Winz, an epidemiologist at the Portsmouth Health Department.
These statistics are why Portsmouth is sounding the alarm on overdose deaths, starting with their first "Appalachian Save a Life Day."
"We felt like we needed to do more to learn how we can save a life and get the word out in the community," said Winz.
Families were given a "Save a Life" kit, with Narcan, the FDA approved overdose reversal medicine, inside.
The kit is something that one Portsmouth mother is thankful for, after losing her son to fentanyl poisoning.
"I found a pill bottle with a residue that did not match the description," said Elizabeth Ripley, whose son died to fentanyl poisoning.
In the city Ripley calls home, health leaders said there were 94 fentanyl deaths in 2022, and in 2021, there were 86 deaths. Ripley's son, Michael Warren, is a part of that statistic.
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"I don't want anyone else to have to go through what I go through on a daily basis," said Ripley. "This month would be two years since he passed away."
Her son died just six days before his 22nd birthday. Portsmouth's alarming rates caused Ripley to come out to the Save a Life event and let families know that fentanyl is no joke.
"I think doing events like these are the only way to help me cope," said Ripley.
Portsmouth Health Department said that as of recently, they're seeing African American men ages 40 to 65-years-old impacted by drug overdoses. They're planning to have their next Save a Life event in November.
