Mothers share stories of loss as new billboard highlighting fentanyl crisis goes up in Sacramento
By Lee Anne Denyer
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SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — A new billboard is putting real faces behind the deadly fentanyl epidemic in our region. And their moms are speaking out about their lives — and loss.
“My life has changed forever,” said Sharon Freeman, a mother who lost her son to fentanyl poisoning just last month. “It’s different.”
Drivers traveling southbound on Interstate 5 in North Natomas will see 24 faces of people who lost their lives to the deadly drug. The photos include Freeman’s son, Riley.
The organization Drug Induced Homicide organized the billboard, calling on local families to come together for the powerful message. Mareka Cole organized the initiative and encouraged anyone who has lost a child to fentanyl to reach out and seek resources through the organization.
Clutching a photo of her son, Izaya, Stephanie Boatright fought back tears.
“I just want people to be aware of what this drug is doing,” Boatright said. “It’s not even a drug, this is poison and we’re losing our kids out here left and right.”
On Monday, Boatright stood alongside mothers who too know her pain as the new billboard lit up for the first time.
“I never thought this would happen to my son, never in a million years,” Boatright said. “This is what’s going on and it’s real life. This is the worst imaginable thing.” Boatright hoped the billboard would prompt change. She wants to see someone held accountable for the many young people accidentally losing their lives due to the drug. Marlena Potter wants that accountability for her son, and others, too.
“We need to figure out how to come together. It’s not a political issue it’s how do we to get fentanyl off the street and protect this next generation,” Potter said.
Lisa Ezell’s son, Cameron March, died from fentanyl poisoning after purchasing what he believed to be a Percocet, she said.
“He had no idea there was fentanyl in it and it killed him immediately,” Ezell said.
She encouraged all parents to talk with their children about the dangers of the drug and to understand it may be present within other substances. She hoped the new billboard would help spark conversations amongst family members about the challenging subject.
“My son wasn’t a drug addict,” Ezell said. “People still don’t know what fentanyl is. They might see the billboard and look it up and then they might be able to have conversations with their families, their kids, their grandkids.”
The billboard will be up in the location along southbound Interstate 5 for a month.
Cole said she is working on getting another one up in the region in the coming weeks.
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