Marin Co. mom on mission to save lives after her son died from fentanyl overdose
"I often think Trevor might still be alive today if they had Narcan everywhere like we're working on now four years later."
MARIN COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- Michelle Leopold is a Marin County mom on a mission to get naloxone into the hands of as many people as possible. The life-saving drug best known by the brand name Narcan, can reverse an opioid overdose.
"I often think Trevor might still be alive today if they had Narcan everywhere like we're working on now four years later," said Leopold, who lost her son Trevor to fentanyl overdose in 2019 when he was a freshman at Sonoma State University.
"My son Trevor died in his dorm room at Sonoma State in 2019 after taking one fentanyl M30 pill, oxycodone," said Leopold, noting her son struggled with addiction throughout his teens.
"From the night that we found out he died my husband and I said we have to be loud about this," she said.
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The Leopold's own a handful of hardware stores across the Bay Area and they're teaming up with local health departments to help train customers and neighboring businesses to use naloxone. "Last year, we did this and we trained a hundred people in the Bay Area. I think that's pretty great," said Leopold.
On Sunday, August 27 they'll be hosting a training event at their San Francisco store in Laurel Heights. "We are teaching people how to use Narcan and once they're successfully trained they'll get their own Narcan courtesy of the Department of Public Health," said Leopold.
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"One of our goals within the health department is to make sure that everyone is aware that we all may be in a situation to save a life," said Dr. Jeffrey Hom with San Francisco Department of Public Health.
San Francisco is on pace for its deadliest year yet amid the fentanyl crisis and health officials are looking to people like Leopold to help slowdown deaths. "Hearing from families and friends who have been so directly impacted by this crisis is so critical to us keeping sight of the human side of this crisis," said Dr. Hom.
Naloxone training and distribution will be held between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. at Standard 5 & 10 Ace and Stan's Kitchen, located at 3545 California Street. Organizers say there will be free parking in the back.
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