FORT WORTH — Community members gathered on Friday to raise awareness about the fentanyl crisis as overdoses continue to rise throughout the metroplex.
The May 3 event highlighted the striking increase of fentanyl deadly doses and offered impactful testimonies from those who have lost loved ones from overdoses. The community outreach was organized by Stephanie Hellstern, a Fort Worth mom who lost her 16-year-old son to the deadly opioid in 2020, as previously covered by The Dallas Express.
In 2021, Hellstern started the North Texas Coalition Against Fentanyl, a nonprofit organization that aims to support grieving families who are suffering the loss of a loved one from fentanyl.
The event, attended by DX, featured several speakers, including Hellstern, who discussed the need for change surrounding the deadly drug.
“Fentanyl is a silent killer,” Hellstern said. “We need to come together and realize that this is happening in our own schools, our own neighborhoods. … I want to get my city on board.”
The event began with Hellstern reading out the 83 names of those who have lost their lives thus far this year in Texas due to fentanyl poisoning. These deaths involved victims ranging from age 2 to 44.
Zach Abrego shared his story of having twice overdosed on fentanyl and being saved by his fiancee. Abrego wants to see fentanyl test strips legalized in the state.
Last year, members of the Dallas City Council advocated for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz to support a bill that would decriminalize fentanyl testing strips across the country, as covered by The Dallas Express.
The bill died in the Texas Senate because, as Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston) put it, opponents believe legalizing the strips would give people more confidence to abuse the drugs.
Abrego, addressing such arguments, asserted: “Fentanyl test strips are not dangerous, but what is dangerous is not allowing people to use [them]. We have to do something about it and have to keep coming together.”
Ruben Pena, who lost his granddaughter Angelina to fentanyl, also spoke at the May 3 event. He shared that his grandaughter’s autopsy report labeled her death as an overdose and argued that was incorrect.
“It’s not an overdose. She was actually poisoned,” Pena stressed. “She had a good life going ahead of her. It is really tough to live every day hoping that it does not happen to anybody else.”
Texas House Bill 6, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott last summer, made it so that the medical certification on a death certificate must include the term “fentanyl poisoning” or “fentanyl toxicity” if a lethal amount of the drug is found in the toxicology examination and the autopsy is consistent with an opioid overdose. The legislation also elevated fentanyl-related offenses to felonies and increased the associated penalties.
Amanda Conover, an attendee of the event, spoke on behalf of her brother, who died from drug use.
“He never had the pride there or comfort to assume it was okay to mention to somebody [about his addiction]. He was too ashamed,” Conover said. “We have to stop making people who try drugs and who are addicted to them feel like that. You don’t have anywhere to turn to. I never thought I would lose my little brother, and looking back in videos and conversations, I truly saw my brother reaching out but could not say it.”
Doses of Narcan, a drug that helps reverse the effects of opioid overdose, were made available to the event attendees. Texas Senate Bill 867 enables Narcan to be distributed to colleges and universities in the state.
